The Tournament
by Kayochen
Summary: Julia Chang arrived at the fifth King of Iron Fist Tournament hoping only for victory, little did she expect the plot of darkness, love, secrecy, betrayal and passion that awaited her.
1. PART I The Start

This story is set during Tekken 5. Enjoy!

This instalment: Julia Chang arrives at the fifth King of Iron Fist Tournament hoping to emerge victorious, but as the weeks unfold she will be drawn into a plot far darker and more challenging than any she could have anticipated.

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**PART I**

The Start

Julia surveyed the arena. The smells, sights and sounds which had faded into memories now came back to her with all the meaning and clarity with which she had first encountered them. The arena was scattered with people – fighters, guards, organisers, spectators; it being a few days before the start of the tournament, their numbers were small, but a buzz of anticipation was in the air, and Julia breathed this in, sending a thrill through her body. Her mother Michelle had taught her to fight not to destroy, but to protect; Julia shared in this sentiment, at least on the surface. Despite the hypocrisy of it, she loved fighting – she loved the rush of adrenaline, she loved the taste in her mouth before the call for the fight to commence echoed across the arena, she loved the force which drove her strikes into the bodies of her opponents, she loved the sweat which drenched her clothes and sent rushes of hot and cold across her skin, she loved the glow of victory and she even loved wiping the blood from her wounds and the scars they left. Yes, Julia had been born to fight, and luckily, she had been given a cause, or rather an excuse, to fight. It was not that Julia did not care about the deforestation of her home, she cared passionately about it, and when she was not training or fighting, she was researching the subject. For Julia, the environment was a part of her, and she saw the deforestation as an attack on her personally. With her warrior spirit, her natural reaction was to defend herself against this onslaught, and so she fought furiously both physically and mentally to save the forests which had been so much of her life and her mother.

'Ms Chang, would you like to be shown to your room now?' the porter asked, evidently growing exasperated with this detour.

'Oh, yes, of course.' They proceeded through the Mishima mansion, down the long elaborate hallways, across leafy courtyards, through dark conference rooms, past dojos and sparkling bathrooms. Only those entrants who had proven their worth in previous tournaments had the honour of staying in the mansion and Julia recalled how, in the first tournament she had entered, Michelle had argued furiously with the staff on being told that Julia was not entitled to a room in the mansion. On such short notice, she ended up staying in a rundown hotel three blocks away. Michelle had forfeited without complaint her own luxurious accommodation to stay with her in that cold dingy little room. Julia smiled at her mother's sweetness and devotion, which she herself so emulated. Now it was Julia who was the seasoned fighter, entitled to a room in the mansion without question, and Michelle, older and less practised, who stayed at home.

When they arrived at her room, the porter placed her suitcase by the door and handed her an embossed card from his pocket, Julia took it and read the message; it was an invitation:

_Julia Chang_

_Mishima Zaibatsu_

_would appreciate your company_

_at a champagne reception_

_this Wednesday at 7.30pm_

_in the central ballroom._

_Dress is black tie._

And in smaller letters at the bottom:

_Attendance is compulsory._

'But that's the day before the tournament starts.' Said Julia, the porter paused as he was closing the door,

'I know. I don't think it'll last long though.'

'They never had a reception at any of the other tournaments.'

'Haven't you heard? New management. They don't tell us anything, all I know is since that explosion, things have been changing around here.' She had heard about the explosion, everyone had; and despite the desperate effort the papers made to stretch the story, there was really very little information other than that it had taken place at the Mishima Zaibatsu headquarters and that some kind of large bird or small aircraft had been spotted leaving the scene. Julia cast him a questioning glance; he hesitated and then, maybe because she was pretty, or maybe because he enjoyed the feeling of having information, he leaned his head in confidentially and said in a low voice, 'What I heard is that that explosion involved Kazuya and Heihachi Mishima and that they were killed in the blast. Then there was a rumour going round that the corporation was closing down. We were all worried about our jobs so when the new management swept in and announced this tournament we didn't ask any questions.'

'And what now?' asked Julia in the same hushed tone,

'Now? Well all I know, Ms Chang, is that things have been changing so suddenly round here we don't have time to stop and think. I'm not sure if anyone really knows what's going to happen next. I suppose we'll know soon enough though, I don't know about you, but there's something weird about this tournament. Maybe I'm just imagining it 'cause of all the changes, but I think Jin –' There was a noise out in the corridor and the porter started suddenly. Julia searched his face for an answer but was greeted with an expressionless,

'Well, there's your key, we hope you enjoy the tournament.' He then abruptly turned, closing the door behind him.

Jin. Julia repeated his name out loud as she dropped on to her bed. A sickening feeling crept into her stomach at the thought of him combined with all the information with which she had just been bombarded. The porter was right; there was something different about this tournament. She had been so occupied with the excitement that she hadn't noticed the disconcerted feeling of Wrong, which had crept silently like an icy hand under her clothes. Suddenly she began to regret entering the tournament, especially if it meant having to confront Jin. There were few things that scared Julia – fists, swords, guns, any physical threats Julia could deal with easily enough. It was the intangible which frightened Julia, the things which could not be beaten into submission, and Evil could not be beaten into submission. While these thoughts were circling in her head, the phone rang. She picked it up,

'Hello.'

'Herro!' Julia recognised the childish voice of Xiaoyu immediately. 'How are you? I was so happy to see you from my window, I go to supervisor to ask your room number. I was worried that you not come; then I have no one to play with.'

'You can see the arena from your window?' asked Julia.

'Oh yes! The view in my room is super beautiful. You come over and see!'

And so it was that Julia found herself crossed-legged on the bed, looking out of the window over the arena with Xiaoyu perched behind her plaiting and unplaiting her hair. Julia and Xiaoyu's relationship was an interesting one; on one level they got on very well – gossiping about other competitors, discussing interests and people and their lives, even going out together to clubs, cinemas and restaurants. Despite being quite different people, they shared a love of life and each admired certain qualities in the other – for Julia it was Xiaoyu's optimism, innocence and determination, for Xiaoyu it was Julia's fearlessness, intelligence and power. Being around the same age, it was only natural that they should become friends, however, they did not share an easy laughing balanced friendship – it was formed more out of necessity rather than choice and though Xiaoyu's English was very good, there were certain language barriers. They were nearly inseparable during the tournament, but they barely communicated outside of it, except for the occasional Christmas card or E-mail. Generally, their time together was pleasant but they did not particularly miss each other in the intervals between the tournaments.

'How long have you been here?' asked Julia.

'I arrived two days back, on Saturday. I organised arrangements for Panda to be rooked after while I'm here so I arrived a rittle early.'

'Who else is here?'

'Not many people yet – most will arrive today or tomorrow. Paul's here, also King. I can't remember who else.'

'Well, we'll see everyone at the reception I suppose.' Xiaoyu swung nimbly round to face Julia, giving a little squeal of delight.

'Are you super excited?! I can't wait! We'll have super fun – drinking champagne, dancing, wearing beautiful dresses –' Julia hadn't even thought about what she would wear. She was not a very dressy girl and hadn't packed anything suitable for a black tie event.

'Xiaoyu, I don't have anything to wear, have you got a dress?' Xiaoyu's eyes lit up and she clapped her hand in delight. She was so excited she started to babble in Mandarin and it took her a few seconds to sort her thoughts into coherent English,

'You. . . me . . . shopping!'

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Next instalment, _The Shopping Trip_: Julia encounters some more of her competitors and Xioayu reveals a startling secret.


	2. The Shopping Trip

Sorry I took so long posting this second chapter – been stuck in a cottage with no hot water, let alone an Internet connection. . . Just for your information, I'll try to update about once a week. Thanks for the reviews, they were all very encouraging!

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The Shopping Trip

Julia was not an experienced shopper, and did not look forward to the outing with the same enthusiasm as Xiaoyu, but within minutes Xiaoyu had shown her what shops to go to, how to choose what colour is right for you, what top goes with what shoes, and after an hour Julia was totally absorbed in the experience and both of them had almost forgotten the original purpose of their expedition until, while they were browsing expertly through a sales rack, a voice behind them said,

'Trying to find a dress for the reception?' The two girls turned in surprise to find that the owner of the voice was an attractive Oriental girl about their own age, if not a little younger. She was accompanied by a lively looking girl with fierce eyes and tanned skin who had one, or rather two, very prominent features which she displayed with relish, drawing glances from men in all directions.

'Christie!' said Xiaoyu to the Brazilian girl, hugging her like an old friend. 'We fought at the last tournament, remember?'

'Yeah, how could I forget?' she laughed, 'That nutcracker of yours left me aching for weeks!'

'I don't think we've met.' said Julia to the other young woman.

'No.' she replied, 'This is my first tournament. My name's Asuka Kazama.' She had a slight accent, but her English was almost perfect.

'Any relation of Jun Kazama?'

'Yes. She is my aunt.'

'Really? My mother was a great friend of hers.'

'Of course! How foolish of me – I knew I recognised you from past tournaments but couldn't figure out who you were – you're Julia Chang.' And they were off. The four of them spent the rest of the day picking out this, complimenting that, and left with perfect dresses and a firm friendship.

Julia awoke groggily at 3am the next day to the sound of her alarm. Having missed training the day before, she had decided to get up extra early and work twice as hard today. Now faced with the actual prospect, however, it seemed a lot less appealing. Nonetheless, she dragged herself out of bed and donned her usual training clothes – a net T-shirt over a black crop top and some trousers. As she was tightening her head band, she cursed herself for putting her own enjoyment in front of her cause and vowed silently to train as hard as she possibly could without distraction.

Instead of heading for the training room, Julia decided to start her regime in the outdoor sparring area, thinking that perhaps the morning air would wake her up a little. She stepped out into the dewy courtyard; it was empty and her footsteps rang like a bell through the pillars and elaborate stone carvings. Dragons leered out of the mist, their tails coiled around marble spheres, their tongues lolling out of their mouths as their shining stone orbs of eyes observed her, the only ones there to watch. Walking further out, she was startled by the view, which seemed too perfect to be real – mountains tumbled into the distance with cloud-like trees twisting their silhouettes across the white sky. The green faded to blue and then purple, then disappeared into the mist, like a Japanese woodblock print. Julia breathed in the cold, fresh air and felt instantly invigorated.

She began with some basic moves – gentle punches and kicks, to get her warmed up, soon moving on to more elaborate swipes and uppercuts. Eventually she was carrying out some very difficult moves indeed – twisting into a tequila sunrise middle smash, then feeding all her energy into a dramatic foot stomp and enjoying every moment of it. By the time she had finished, the mist had cleared and the sun had risen, casting long bleak shadows across the stones. The echo of the patio made her aware of her own panting, and she felt a thrill as she recognised her own heartbeat, and felt that profound understanding of her body for a brief moment, which only the greatest warriors possess. It was like the sun bursting through the clouds, illuminating her for a second, and then it was gone.

By now a few other fighters were drifting across the courtyard, preparing themselves for the day's training, Julia wiped the sweat from her body and walked back toward the entrance, recognising as she did so a couple of competitors. She said nervous 'Hello' to Anna Williams, hoping that Nina wasn't anywhere around and passed silently by Lei Wulong so as not to interrupt his meditation. Walking along one of the grand, decorated corridors she heard from behind her,

'Juria!' she turned to see Xiaoyu sprinting lightly towards her and recognised Asuka and Christie. 'Juria! Are you going to the gym? That's where we're going; we knocked on your door but you weren't in your room.'

'Um, yeah, I mean yeah I am going to the gym.' Xiaoyu beamed and linking arms with Julia on one side, Asuka on the other and physically putting Christie's arm through Julia's, led the bewildered girls to the gym.

As they approached the East Wing, in which the training facilities were located, their cheerful chattering ceased as one by one they noticed the figure approaching. Without being prompted, they dropped their arms and made way for the fighter. The girls kept their gaze low, some out of fear, some out of embarrassment, some out of respect, but as the figure passed, Julia allowed her eyes to flick up, connecting for the briefest of moments with the cold intense stare of Jin. Once he had passed, instead of exchanging glances and giggling muffledly as they would have with any other good-looking boy, they let out the collective breath they had been holding in. They did not continue talking until they were well out of the corridor, and none of them mentioned the incident.

The girls pounded away side-by-side on the treadmills. Their workout would have tired most men, but despite the astonishing pace at which they were running, they still managed to keep up a lively conversation.

'So Christie.' Said Xiaoyu, 'You have a boyfriend?'

'Not at the moment.' She replied. Xiaoyu stared pointedly at her breasts which she barely seemed able to contain in her sports top, which was less of a top and more of a couple of strips of lycra slung across her chest. The girls laughed and she replied,

'Believe me, Sweetie, you would not want to date any of the men that these attract.'

'Why Xiaoyu, have you?' asked Julia.

'No, not really, but. . .' The girls craned their heads forward to listen, but Xiaoyu was pushing buttons aimlessly on the running machine.

'Come on, Xiaoyu, since when do you keep secrets?' pried Julia. Xiaoyu looked down at her pounding feet, embarrassed by this turn in the conversation which she herself had accidentally orchestrated.

'Well, there is one guy. . .' After a pause, she mumbled something, but the others couldn't hear it over the running machine, they slowed to listen,

'What?' said Asuka, 'We can't hear you.' She said it more loudly but it was still inaudible.

'What?' shouted Julia, and all three turned their running machines off, afraid that Xiaoyu wouldn't repeat it again and they would never find out.

'It's Jin!' shouted Xiaoyu. She immediately slapped her hands over her mouth, realising that she had said this much too loudly; other fighters in the gym turned to look. Instead of giggling or teasing Xiaoyu, Julia, Christie and Asuka stood silent for a few seconds, stunned. It was as if Xiaoyu had voiced something which should not have been, as if just by saying his name, they would incur his terrible wrath. Xiaoyu felt it too as she started to mumble an apology.

'But why?' whispered Julia.

'Well for one thing he's fucking gorgeous.' said Christie. Xiaoyu started to perk up, relieved that the others were starting to talk about him in a more human light.

'Come on, let's go over to the weight section, we can talk more easily there.' The weight room was filled with hulking, heaving, sweating men who relished the opportunity to impress a few attractive girls. The room was quickly evacuated, however, when they realised that a girl half their size could lift twice their weight.

'Tell us everything.' said Asuka.

'Well,' said Xiaoyu, beginning to enjoy the attention, 'I first noticed him when I started his school on the fourth tournament.'

'Oh yeah!' interjected Julia, 'I completely forgot that you two went to the same school.'

'I knew who he was, of course, so first I was scared, but one day we were on a school trip and I forgot my runch so he give me his. I was super happy. I know he's not a bad person. Sometimes he rooks bad, but he's not. I know. I think it's sad, because his life is super sad.' Xiaoyu looked genuinely upset, and even started to get a little tearful.

'Hey, cheer up, Xiaoyu, he's only a boy.'

'No!' said Xiaoyu, 'He's not only a boy, I love him!' She dropped the weights she was holding and began to sob. Julia exchanged a frantic glance with Asuka and they put down their own weights, as did Christie, kneeling to comfort Xiaoyu who had slid to the floor in despair.

'There's plenty of other guys, Xiaoyu, what about Steve Fox, he's pretty cute.'

'I'm sure if you just train hard you'll forget all about him.'

'You wouldn't want a guy like that anyway.'

No matter what they said, Xiaoyu continued to wail; eventually she managed to hiccup,

'B-b-but, I don't want other boys.' She let out another sob, 'I want Ji-in!' Julia looked around frantically – other fighters were beginning to notice the commotion, and the last thing any of them wanted was to get caught up in a big mess the day before the tournament. Xiaoyu could even get disqualified if she was deemed too emotionally unstable to fight.

'Asuka,' she said, an idea flashing into her mind, 'you know Jin pretty well don't you?'

'Well, he's my cousin. I see him quite a lot. Yeah, I know him pretty well.'

'You'll arrange something for Xiaoyu, won't you?' Asuka began to open her mouth in protest by Julia cast her a pleading glance,

'Er. . . a. . . yeah, of course, Xiaoyu, I can talk to him for you.'

'Leally?' she sniffed.

'Of course.' She replied uncertainly. Xiaoyu choked back a few more sobs, but the worst was over, and the other girls were able to pick her up and mop her tear-streaked face with sweat towels. Julia had hoped to use this merely as a pacification tool until she could get Xiaoyu back to her room to dispel any feelings she had for Jin, but Xiaoyu became very keen on the idea and clung to it like a terrier, shunning any notion of going up to her room; they spent the rest of the day in training, Xiaoyu growing ever more persistent in her fantasy,

'When will you talk to him, Asuka?', 'What will you say to him, Asuka?', 'Do you think he'll like me Asuka?' and eventually, 'Will you be my maid of honour Asuka?' as they were leaving the gym, Asuka hissed in Julia's ear,

'You owe me big time.'

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Next instalment, _The Champagne Reception_: The Mishima Zaibatsu's new owner is revealed and mysteries build when the girls attend a champagne reception to launch the tournament.


	3. The Champagne Reception

Thanks again for your reviews. I'm really enjoying writing this story so it's great to know you lot are enjoying reading it. I forgot to add to my earlier chapters,

Disclaimer: Tekken and all the Tekken characters are the property of Namco.

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The Champagne Reception 

Julia stared at her own reflection – it seemed so unreal, a side of her she'd never seen before. The dress she wore was sapphire blue, shimmering like a river to the floor. The neckline folded across her, creating a beautiful swooping frame for the blue beaded pendant she wore around her neck. All Xiaoyu's plaiting, which had seemed so aimless at the time, now paid off as her hair tumbled in chestnut waves across her bare shoulders and back.

'Now,' said Christie, her eyes glittering wildly, 'it's time for a little make-up.' She swept brushes here and put cream there and by the end of it, Julia, who had never worn more than the most basic makeup, was startled to see the difference. Her cheeks seemed more defined, her skin clearer, her lips fuller, and her eyes, shadowed with blue as brilliant as her dress, seemed to sparkle.

'Super beautiful!' gasped Xiaoyu, admiring Julia. She herself looked wonderful in a traditional pink Chinese dress, with flowers falling across her frame, landing in little silk ripples at the hem. It had taken a while, but eventually the other girls had managed to convince Xioayu to take her hair out of pigtails; they had then straightened it, leaving her looked for the first time, not a girl but a woman. She twirled in the mirror, giggling to Asuka,

'I know Jin will rike it.'

Asuka wore an elaborate black and white gown with a pink sash criss-crossing the corset around her middle and falling haphazardly to the floor. Her hair she piled loosely on top of her head. The result was accidental elegance.

Christie, meanwhile, didn't do elegance, or subtlety. Her dress was leaf green, and connected by a brooch at her midriff; the material, which was sheer, sliced across her chest and legs, revealing acres of beautiful tanned skin.

They arrived at the ballroom around 8, when tongues had already been loosened by drink and a buzz of conversation filled the air. This, however, ceased as soon as Julia, Xiaoyu, Asuka and Christie entered. It was not that they were the only beautiful women in the room – Nina looked deadly in a short black dress and Anna switched her hips seductively around all the men in her red gown and fishnets; but grouped together, filled with youth and laughter, the four of them seemed to shine like candles, illuminating all those around them. The men too, proved themselves to be quite an attractive bunch, once cleaned up. Some wore suits, others had opted for the traditional dress of their countries; even Paul had managed to tie his hair into a discreet ponytail for the evening. The elegance of the event coupled with the soothing music being played by the band seemed to quell the aggressive spirits of the guests and now they were talking, laughing and enjoying themselves.

Being young and uneducated in etiquette, the girls grabbed some champagne and huddled around a table, giggling and chattering. They were flushed with excitement and, along with everyone else, felt a sense of expectation – they had been called here for some purpose; the Mishima Zaibatsu, or at least the one they knew, was not the type of organisation to hold an event without some motive other than providing people with entertainment, but as the porter had told Julia, things were changing, and no one in that ballroom knew what was going to happen. She scanned the hall in search of a host or company executive, but there was no one. Nonetheless, the guests appeared to be keeping in relative order and the mood seemed strangely regulated – it was as if the reception was being controlled by an invisible source, a puppeteer obscured by the darkness into which the strings disappeared.

After about an hour, with alcohol now coursing through their veins, the guests were growing restless. Conversations were nearing their natural conclusions and there was an almost tangible energy building up in the room. They wanted to see the thing they had all come here for, they wanted to see the new owner of Mishima Zaibatsu. This idea hung in the air, no one speaking of it, but all silently sharing in it and recognising it in one another. Just as it seemed this idea might take form and break out, the band struck up a swing number and the floor was soon filled with dancing couples, while the singletons exchanged nervous glances, half wishing for and half dreading the prospect of dancing with a stranger.

The four girls were immediately surrounded by men and soon Asuka, Xiaoyu and Christie were twirling and laughing their way from partner to partner. Julia, doubting her dance skills and still feeling that sense of unfulfilled anticipation, politely turned down the string of men who requested a dance and elected instead to guard the others' bags and glasses.

The evening wore on and Julia, an inexperienced drinker, emptied glass after glass of champagne until she was well and truly hammered. The figures before her swirled in and out of focus and the floor beneath her feet stretched into the distance and slipped in her vision. Feeling bolder, she thought she would quite like to dance. Occasionally one of the other girls would return to the table out of guilt, taking a swig of champagne and asking Julia if she was sure she didn't want to dance. Not wanting to ruin their fun, she would shake her head and say no she'd much rather stay here thank you, then they would turn back to the dance floor in relief.

Julia glanced at her watch – so much for this not taking that long, it was nearing 11.30 and she had to get up at 5 the next morning to prepare for her first match. She considered turning in, and at the very moment that she glanced towards the door, a figure entered. Julia's heart skipped a beat as she recognised Jin Kazama. He seemed uncaring, as if he had drifted into the ballroom by chance. He wore suit trousers and an untucked shirt, the top button undone and his tie loose. His sleeves were rolled up to the elbow and a cigarette hung from his lips. He surveyed the room briefly before plucking a glass of champagne from one of the waiters circulating the room and moving to a table in the corner. Julia watched him, wondering where he had been and why he had decided to show up now. There was so much she didn't know about him. She continued to observe him for the next hour or so, looking at him through the base of a champagne glass, letting her eyes flick towards him in brief glances. Xiaoyu, who had been happily dancing with the rather lovely Hwoarang for the past hour, seemed not to have noticed the brooding figure in the darkness. Julia felt a chill growing in her, something unnatural and sinister – she assumed it was Jin's presence, which always unnerved her, combined with the copious amounts of alcohol she had consumed which created this effect, but it was unlike the usual feeling she got from him; she had felt something like it before, during the last tournament, but not as intensely as she did now. The music had shifted from lively Latin and jazz to slower, but still upbeat songs, allowing the fighters to continue dancing without loosing their breath, and hinting at still more intimate music to come, giving them a motive to stay on the floor and hold on tight to their favourite partner.

The tune was suddenly interrupted, and a Japanese executive who had apparently asked the band to pause their playing, stepped forward and announced,

'Ladies and Gentlemen, Honoured Competitors, we are pleased to introduce to you, the new owner of Mishima Zaibatsu, Jinpachi Mishima!' All the blood seemed to drain out of Julia's body, she thought she might faint, or vomit. She gripped the sides of her chair, struggling for breath. It felt as if someone had reached between her ribs and was wrenching at her heart. The other guests too were exchanging nervous murmurs, their eyes shifting to the door on which a spotlight had fallen. It opened and a wave seemed to pass through the crowd as a massive figure stepped into the ballroom. Jinpachi was large and frightening. His eyes bulged out of his head, yellow as sulphur. His skin looked like that of a Rhino –scarred and impenetrable with veins raised from the surface, running across every gnarled muscle. A cold energy seemed to surround him, like sparks of electricity zapping across his body. With steps which produced ripples in the delicate champagne glasses, he moved to the centre of the room. The crowds parted before him, with even the bravest of warriors shrinking in the presence of this giant. When he spoke, his voice was deep and loud, like a lion's roar.

'Let the tournament commence!' there was a brief moment of silence before someone regained themself and began clapping; soon everyone followed suit and Jinpachi stood like a titan, laughing. 'Now!' he continued, 'You may resume your merriment. Which lovely lady will grant me their partnership for my first dance of the evening?' Every muscle in Julia's body tensed. If only she'd left when she had the chance, if only she had accepted one of the men. She felt every eye turn towards her, sitting so obvious in Jinpachi's line of sight, the only female not on her feet. She trembled, cold and sickened, as Jinpachi moved, in slow motion it seemed, towards her. The collective gaze of the room followed him, fearful but thankful, as if watching a sacrifice. Julia searched amongst the sea of eyes for her friends. They were watching her, helplessly. Jinpachi extended his hand to her and it took all her courage to place her own trembling palm in his. It seemed to be swallowed up in his huge club-like fist as he guided her to the centre of the floor. This emotion, this primal repulsion, was so strange and inexplicable but so crushingly undeniable the Julia could only tremble in wonder, baffled by the irrationality of her feelings.

'What is your name, my dear?' there was something in those words, something pitiless and empty, void of all human feeling, so much so that Julia felt a cold flush run through her; she struggled to reply,

'J-Julia Chang.' A spark of recognition, or something similar, entered Jinpachi's eye for a moment, but only for a moment, and then it was gone.

The band, on the executive's command, resumed their song, but it seemed to take on a new sinister note now, like a death march. Julia could hardly keep on her feet, and felt like a rag doll as Jinpachi almost carried her around the dance floor. So repulsed was she by him, she found it physically difficult to be so near to him, as if there was some sort of magnetic field surrounding him. Every nerve in her body told her to run, run as far and as fast as she could, but she forced herself to continue. Had she tried to run, she was sure she would have been unable to, so crushingly strong was Jinpachi's grip. She felt detached, like it was not her here in his embrace, and was barely conscious of the couples moving fearfully around her, keeping their distance. So caught up was she in her own revulsion, she did not notice that Jinpachi had his focus steadily fixed on one point in the room, a sinister challenge glinting in his eye. Nor did she see the object of his attention move suddenly out of the ballroom. When the song ended, after what seemed an eternity, Julia wanted to flee the ballroom immediately and sob out all her disgust, but Jinpachi held on to her for another terrifying minute, gazing at her with his wet, bulbous eyes. He lifted one mighty hand to her neck and she felt sure he would strangle her right there on the dance floor, but instead he stroked her cheek. His touch was rough and made her want to scream and hide, but she kept her gaze fixed on him, trying with all her might to prove to him that she was not afraid, though every fibre in her body told her the contrary.

'How very lovely.' he growled, 'It's a pity such a beautiful creature should go to waste.' He let his hand rest on her jaw for a moment, making Julia aware of his overwhelming power, and how easily he could place her skull between his palms and crush it like an egg, before releasing her.

She stumbled shaking back to her table and Asuka, Christie and Xiaoyu immediately flocked to comfort her. She was too drunk and terrified to understand their questions and simply fell into a chair, trying with all her might not to break down in tears.

She looked past the concerned faces of her friends to the far corner, but Jin was nowhere to be seen.

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Next instalment, _The First Fight_: Julia faces her first opponent, but things take a dramatic turn as she suffers the effects of an unknown ailment.


	4. The First Fight

Just so you know, though this story is set in the world of Tekken, there're a lot of inaccuracies, plus stuff which I just totally made up. . .

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The First Fight

The next day Julia was feverish and felt as if her head had been cracked in two. Asuka, Christie and Xiaoyu attended to her as best they could, stroking her arm, asking is she was okay, offering her glasses of water, but it was no use, she lay dazed and delirious in her bed.

'Juria, we have to take you to the medical wing.' said Xiaoyu.

'No, I'm going to fight, I'm going to fight.' The girls exchanged worried glances as Julia pushed back her covers and rose from her bed, supported on arms that felt too weak to even lift her own body. 'You guys should get back to your rooms,' she slurred, 'Matches start in about an hour.'

'Look, Sweetie,' said Christie in a frank tone, 'We can't let your fight like this. I mean, look at you for God's sake! You're too hungover to even stand. If you fight today you're going to get hurt and we're all going to feel responsible for letting you do it. Now I think the best thing would be for us to take you to the medical wing where a doctor can look after you properly.' Julia looked at them all, their anxious faces, and said desperately,

'I can't, I can't go to the medical wing, you know as well as I do what that means. They won't let me fight and I'll be out of the tournament for inappropriate conduct. I can't let that happen, I can't.' she felt a lump form in her throat as she continued, 'I've trained so hard to be here, I can't be disqualified before I've even stepped into the arena because of a fever and a headache. I'll have let everyone down, all those people who are depending on me to get the data for our anti-deforestation project. Michelle would know. What would she say when I came home and told her? Think how disappointed she would be.' She brushed away invisible tears and fumbled in her drawers for her clothes. The other girls were silent until Asuka said gently,

'Julia, if the doctor would say you're too ill to fight, don't you think it's the best thing for you to forfeit the match? Just tell them you think it's a bug, they can't disqualify you for being ill.' Julia gripped the drawer and sobbed,

'I won't forfeit. I'm fighting.

They'll know I drank too much, I'm sure I'm not the only one. It was a fucking stupid idea to have a piss up the day before the tournament.' Christie glanced at her watch,

'Come on, Guys, we don't have time for this, we have our own matches to fight.' The girls reluctantly filed out of the room and as Xiaoyu was closing the door, she paused and said,

'Juria, if you fight, I'll support you.' Julia stood hunched and silent over the chest of drawers, listening to the door click shut.

Normally, Julia relied on herbal remedies, but right now she needed a fix and fast; fumbling in her kit bag she found her emergency supply of paracetemol tablets and blearily downed a few with a glass of water. Clumsily putting the bottle on the counter she saw 'Recommended dosage: 1 for normal adult'. How many had she taken? Four, five? She didn't remember, she didn't care, as long as they held off the pain until the end of her fight. She dragged on the rest of her kit and fumbled for her glasses on her bedside table. As her eyes focused, she felt even dizzier and had to grab the side of the dresser to keep from falling over. She snatched up her kit bag and left for the arena.

The day before, Julia had been feeling optimistic about this fight – her opponent was a relative unknown and the odds were highly in her favour; in the earlier rounds, the organisers tried to hold as many fights simultaneously as possible to keep the tournament flowing rapidly and weed out the weaker fighters quickly, so it was pure luck that Julia was fighting in the main arena, which was her favourite venue. However, in her delirium, the arena was not the chalice of hope and excitement it had been just days earlier when she had stood surveying it with the impatient porter; instead it was a gladiatorial pit, and she was being thrown to the lions. The cheers of the crowds bounced around her skull, and their eager faces morphed into grimacing masks, leering at her from all sides.

When her opponent entered the arena, she could see immediately that he was weak, by her standards at any rate. He circled the border, waving to her crowds, enjoying the attention. He was getting too cocky, and she knew that in normal circumstances she would be able to slice him down to size in minutes. She would be too quick, too strong and too good for him. This match would be easy. Right now, however, she was not so confident. She could see already that her movements would be slow and laboured, her strikes too weak to do any damage, and she would be too befuddled to defend or fight tactically. How helpless she felt.

Julia heard the call to begin the fight, and before she could even get her bearings, her opponent had run at her with a brutal punch. She cursed herself as she toppled to the floor, knowing that his attack had been clumsy and left him vulnerable – had she been fit she would have been able to deal a deadly blow to his exposed side, ending the match almost immediately, and here she was, sprawling on the floor under the force of the punch. He laughed, leaping on to her as she tried in vain to rise. His blows came thick and fast, as, pinning her with his legs, he punched her repeatedly in the face. The hits were not clean or accurate, but Julia was too dazed to realise this and was aware only of being hit again and again. She could not defend herself properly and it was only instinct which made her cover her face with her arms, saving her from being knocked out. She thrashed about with her legs, tripping her opponent for long enough that she was able to rise painfully to her feet and return to a loose fighting stance.

The other fighter approached her hesitantly, then lunged out with a kick to the stomach. Perhaps he realised that she was not acting fast enough to take advantage of the obvious targets he was presenting, or perhaps he was too poor a fighter to strike correctly, either way, his clumsy method worked well in this circumstance – he was able to put his full force into a blow without any fear that he would be retaliated against. This kick was a hard one, and hit Julia directly in her stomach. She did not feel any pain, just a dull throb in her gut and head, then she collapsed to the ground, as if under the influence of some spirit who paralysed her limbs and weakened her body. As it struck home, a gasp rose from the crowd and they began to shout and talk fearfully, aware that something was wrong with Julia. She lay for a few seconds on the floor, feeling as, she imagined, elderly people feel before they die – she knew what was coming, and she knew it would be terrible, but she didn't care, she was too weak to fight it. All this passed through her dazed mind in that few seconds that she laid face down, breathing in the dust of the arena floor. A sharp pain ran through her body, and she could not help from crying out and her opponent landed his foot in the centre of her spine. Despite her heavy dose of pain killers, she felt this blow, oh how she felt it. Tears sprang to her eyes, and heat ran the length of her body. _How am I still conscious?_ She thought as, automatically, she pushed her arms against the ground and rose with difficulty to her feet. Suddenly a flash of pain went through her spine and she cried out once more, gripping her back. The crowds were yelling frantically for the match to end, but no one did anything. The other fighter began to taunt her, saying

'What's the matter, Darling, can't handle a little rough stuff?' he soon cowered, however, under the boos of the crowd. He was unsure whether to continue and looked with uncertainty to the judges. They were consulting each other, confused and panicked. It had been assumed that Julia would finish this guy off no problem, so the match had been assigned some of the less experienced or capable officials, while the better ones were off judging more equally matched fighters. In confusion, one of them signalled for the fight to continue. By now Julia was hissing at the unbearable sensation in her back – every move she made sent another bolt of pain to her spine. _Please just finish me off quickly._ She prayed _Put me out of my misery._ And he probably would have done, had he known how, but instead he dealt weak blows, scared to hit too hard in case he did some real damage. These pitiful strikes were far worse than forceful punches, because they simply jolted her body, sending her into convulsions of terrible pain, instead of overriding it or numbing her. Suddenly her head swam and she felt dizzy; it was all she could do to topple forward on to his body, hanging limply off him, like a boxer in the twelfth round. Before he had time to shove her away, she retched and threw up on his chest. He sprang backward in disgust, causing her to fall forward before she steadied herself, and felt her mind suddenly clear – spittle hung from her lip and she felt utterly wretched and emptied, but vomiting seemed to have shaken her up and with a momentarily clear head, she released her leg like a coiled spring and dealt a clean hit to the side of his face. He fell, she fell. They lay, their chests rising rapidly for a few moments. He made a feeble attempt to rise, finally signalling his forfeit, murmuring,

'Crazy bitch.'

Julia however, did not get up.

---------------------------------

Next instalment, _The Doctor_: Julia's fate in the tournament rests in the hands of one man.


	5. The Doctor

The Doctor 

A vase of pink tulips sat on the stand beside Julia's bed. She lifted the label which read

_Dear Julia,_

_Get well soon._

_We all love you_

_and hope you're ok._

_Love Xiaoyu, Asuka and Christie_

_xxx _

There was a little happy face scribbled by Xiaoyu in the corner which would have made Julia smile, were she not so disturbed by the message. Her memory was still fuzzy, and though she had a vague recollection of the match, it was like trying to remember a dream – grabbing at it, but unable to catch it as it drifts further and further away. The sentiment 'we hope you're ok' seemed to carry a sinister note, implying that there was a possibility she was not okay. She winced as she tried to sit up. Pulling back the bedclothes, she saw that she was bruised badly on her legs and sides, and there were bandages across her torso and back. She pressed a buzzer for the nurse – this was not the first time she had been in the Mishima mansion medical ward and knew how everything worked.

'Glad to see you're up.' said a cheerful young man whom Julia had never seen before, entering the room with a clipboard.

'What happened?' asked Julia, surprised at how thin her own voice sounded.

'You lost your match and suffered a back injury. Luckily it's not too serious – an intercostal contusion; that means the muscles in your back got torn. You're fortunate it wasn't a spinal injury; I don't know what those judges were thinking allowing the match to go on as long as it did.'

'Will I be able to fight the rest of the tournament?' asked Julia, doubtful of the answer.

'If you're lucky. The sheath surrounding the muscle was torn as well as the muscle itself so the fluid was able to leak away. This has caused some nasty swelling but actually means it should heal more quickly. You don't know when your next match is, do you?'

'Not 'till the results of all the first-round fights come through, but it won't be for another week at least.' _If I even have another match_ she thought to herself.

'Well, Dr. Kasai has prescribed some massage therapy starting Saturday; you'll get a copy of your schedule later today. No training until it's totally healed though or you could destroy any chance of competing in this tournament, or any successive tournaments for that matter. You really shouldn't have been fighting in your condition anyway.'

'They're not going to disqualify me then?'

'I wouldn't know. They can only disqualify you if Dr. Kasai decides you drank excessively, though I hardly think they need a doctor's opinion to judge that. Anyway, it doesn't matter what I think – you'll have to talk to him.'

'Where is he?'

'He's with a patient, but I'll let him know you want to see him as soon as he's finished. Right now you need to rest.' As Julia let her head fall back on to her pillow she let the nurse's derivative words sink in, and felt utterly foolish.

When Dr. Kasai arrived, Julia realised that she had been treated by him before. He was a squat, bald man and could appear quite stern. Julia sat up with a little discomfort, and waited for him to settle himself, which he did with an air of great self-importance,

'Now,' He said, 'what did you want to talk to me about?'

'What's going to happen? Can I finish the tournament?' The man laughed and said,

'You might have done that already.' Many would have considered this cruel, but Julia was pleased to be confronted with the cold truth, feeling it was nothing less than she deserved. 'It all depends.' He stared down at his clipboard, deciding how best to continue. Julia, growing impatient, said,

'So what is it? Either you tell them I was hungover or not.' He seemed unmoved by this and continued,

'It's not that simple. You see, you did drink too much, considering you had a match the following day, but that was not what made you lose.' Julia looked at him attentively, 'No. You had also overdosed on painkillers, which affected your performance. Luckily, you vomited up most of that so we haven't had to pump your stomach.'

'But doesn't that also qualify as inappropriate conduct? I mean, they're really tough on drug use of any kind, aren't they?' the man paused and then said slowly,

'Julia, do you drink often?' she shook her head, 'And have you ever had a hangover before?' again she shook her head, 'Well, usually a hangover consists of a bad headache and feeling generally a bit run down. Was that how you felt yesterday morning?' Julia thought for a second – her memory of the day before was still a little hazy,

'Yes. No. Well, sort of. I did feel like that, but I felt something else as well.' He urged her to continue and she went on, 'It was like, being dizzy, and I had a fever, and I kept getting hot and cold. And stuff sort of moved and changed when I looked at it. But,' she searched her brain, knowing there was something else, 'It was like someone had invaded me or something. I felt. . . violated, or possessed. I can't explain it.' Dr. Kasai nodded his head as if he understood and said,

'Yes, I thought this might happen. You see, Julia, I have encountered a condition like yours, once. That was several years ago during the second tournament. The patient was Michelle Chang, your mother.

I got quite personally involved with the case, and grew attached to Michelle. I spent many nights pouring over medical books but couldn't figure out what was wrong. Finally, I had to tell her that I was stumped.' He leaned forward and lowered his voice, 'That's when she told me "You won't find my condition in any of your medical books, Doctor, what I have is not an illness of the body, but of the spirit. It's an evil presence. I am in close contact with the spiritual world, and am affected by them." meaning the spirits. Being a medical man, I pooh-poohed this theory, but when she was kidnapped and the news of Ogre came out, I was forced to realise that your mother had been telling the truth.' He leaned back and Julia stared past him for a few moments, stunned. Finally, all she could think to say was,

'So what will you tell the officials?'

'Well, you drank excessively the day before your first match and were under the influence of a drug overdose whilst fighting; these are offences for which the officials will disqualify you, undoubtedly.' Julia gritted her teeth and stared fixedly at him, dreading his next words, 'But, it is my opinion that the main factor which affected you yesterday morning was neither of these but an "illness of the spirit", and had you not been suffering from this, you would have won your match and not be here now. And if I'm being quite honest, I don't like the new management and I feel I owe a debt of loyalty to your mother. This is why I will send a report to the officials which says you were suffering from a bad case of flu.' Julia wanted to reach out and hug him, but his matter-of-fact attitude made her refrain. Instead she said,

'Thank-you.' And tried to further articulate the profuse gratitude she felt, but he simply said,

'I know', laid his hand on her shoulder briefly, and left the room.

Dr. Kasai advised Julia, on leaving the medical wing, to rest as much as possible. At first, she observed his advice – staying in bed all day, as frustrating as she found this. Christie, Asuka and Xiaoyu tried their best to help her enjoy herself – they would visit her often, and miss out on trips to the cinema or shops to sit around her on her bed, talking. It wasn't long before they grew bored though, and Julia felt they resented having to come and see her, so she insisted they needed to train and instead filled the hours with research and reading, only venturing out of her room for her daily massage. For Julia, this time was not relaxing or enjoyable – it was frustrating and boring. She was so used to filling every spare minute in her day with training, that she was acutely aware of how little she was doing. She had so much time on her hands, and a task which needed doing, but she was unable to do it. She brightened up a little, however, when the results of the first round came through – since the inexperienced fighter had forfeited before a K.O. was announced, Julia was named the winner. Naturally, Christie, Xiaoyu and Asuka were also through. Later, Dr. Kasai informed Julia that her rest had paid off – she would be fit to fight by her next match, which was not until the following Wednesday, and she would be able to begin gentle training within days. Julia, who had grown despondent during her time of inertia, began to feel brighter and more energetic. She was told this was a sign that she was recovering from her injuries, but she knew that what she was recovering from was an illness of the spirit.

---------------------------

Next Instalment, _The Dojo_: Julia and Jin get all hot and sweaty in the dojo.

Hehehehe, I'm sorry, I couldn't resist.


	6. The Dojo

Hehehe, had fun with this one!

---------------------

The Dojo

'Juria! Juria!' Xiaoyu came hurtling down the corridor towards her, waving a piece of paper. 'Rook, Juria! It's our opponents for the next round. See, see, I will fight a man called S-Sam Wild and you will fight . . . oh no, Juria! You will fight Eddy.'

'What?' Julia snatched the sheet from Xiaoyu's hands, her eyes flicking across it anxiously. 'Are you sure this is right, Xiao?' the girl nodded and Julia swore under her breath.

'Don't worry.' Said Xiaoyu, putting an arm around Julia, 'You beat him in the rast tournament remember? It just bad you got him so early.'

'I know.' said Julia, 'I know.' But it was not fighting Eddy which troubled Julia – what Xiaoyu said was right – it was unfortunate to be up against such a good fighter so early on, but he was beatable. What concerned Julia, who had studied the tournament system closely, was that the arrangement of the fights indicated that Julia and Xiaoyu, if both successful in the second round, would face each other in the third; this was bad for two reasons: Xiaoyu was her friend, and Xioayu was very very good. There was something else which troubled Julia still more deeply, but she would not know what this was until a great deal later.

That afternoon, a message was sent to all the second round fighters instructing them to attend a meeting in one of the conference rooms. Julia, on Dr Kasai's advice, was excused because of her injuries.

'What do you think it's about?' asked Julia, watching the other girls, who had taken to invading her room at every possible opportunity, get ready to go.

'Something boring I imagine,' replied Asuka, 'like safety.'

'But they said it would take an hour at least. Surely they're not going to give us a ninety-minute safety lecture.' said Christie.

'Maybe,' chirped up Xiaoyu, 'It's Jinpachi again.'

'Actually, I think I heard one of the officials at the reception saying something about a speech.' Joined Asuka.

'God,' said Christie, 'they're certainly laying the PR on thick, this new management?', a note of distrust in her voice.

Xiaoyu began to whine, 'I can't believe they Juria off – it is not hard to watch stupid man talk.' Julia flopped back on to her bed in mock pain,

'Oh, if only I was well enough to go. Damn it, damn it! Why God? I've been looking forward to this the whole tournament.' The other girls laughed and swore at her and left for the demonstration.

Despite her joking attitude towards the other girls, Julia was deeply unnerved by the idea of having to face Jinpachi again; having to stare at that tawny twisted face for an hour filled her with dread. Nevertheless, she had been instructed to watch the event on her television. She tried for a few minutes, but the early evening light which poured trough her window shone in her eyes and prevented her from seeing the screen. This was definitely a sign, she decided, and rose to get dressed. She pulled on a denim skirt, a faded green crop top and some leather fighting gloves. She looked at her back in the mirror – it was still bruised, but no one would see her – she would just do an hour of gentle training and be back in her room in time for the others' return.

Moving through the empty halls of the Mishima mansion, she was struck by the absolute silence which presided over the place. Even the sound of her own movement was muffled by carpets and drapes and tapestries. At that moment, she could have been the only human being in the world. Julia had intended to visit the outdoor training area again, but as she passed the dojo, she saw how the pink glow of the setting sun was feeding through the glass panel windows, filling the room and bouncing off equipment. It looked enchanted, blessed. She moved almost hypnotised into the room, and closed her eyes, basking for a few moments in the sun's warmth.

She opened her eyes once more and noticed the punching bags, which cast long shadows across the floor and walls, like plump water droplets sparkling in the light. Julia loved the punching bags – they let her release all her unhappiness and love and fury in one simple bout of exercise. But she had been instructed specifically to avoid rigourous training. Just one punch, one punch wouldn't hurt. She stepped into her fighting stance, and threw a fist at the bag. It received the force of her blow as if she had been no more than a fly, and did not stir. She had obviously suffered the effects of a week without training. She hit it again, this time more forcefully; the bag gave a satisfying creak, and Julia was surprised to find that she suffered no pain in performing the move. Encouraged by this, she threw a side swipe at the bag, almost feeling herself the force of the punch. Soon blows were hailing on the bag in all directions, not only from her fists, but from her feet too. Julia could not have said how long this lasted – she was oblivious to time or anything else in the world apart from her and the punching bag, this release, this exertion, it was what reminded her that she was alive, and that she could shape and change the world around her. Finally, she stopped. She was panting hard, and sweat covered every inch of her skin. A wave of fatigue suddenly swept over her, and it was all she could do the fall forward and cling to the punching bag.

'That's quite a fierce workout for someone with an injury, don't you think?' Julia swung round, startled by the voice behind her. Standing, legs apart, with her eyes shining brilliantly from beneath wisps of hair which had been loosened by the frenzy, and her chest rising and falling rapidly, Julia looked fierce and beautiful, like an Amazonian warrior. She didn't flinch as her eyes came in contact with those of Jin Kazama. He stood about seven feet away – wearing only a pair of trousers with a lick of red flame up one leg. In the dramatic light of the late sun, his muscles were accentuated and his features made dynamic and almost frightening. Bathed in that red light, he looked like a creature of the underworld.

'You'd better watch your step or you'll be next.' This sounded more aggressive than Julia had intended it to, but there was something about Jin – he was either to be fought against or to flee from; Julia felt as if she could not adopt a middle-ground with him. Jin, however, was undisturbed by her words and simply let a smile play across his lips, though whether it was one of amusement or mockery, Julia could not tell. His eyes didn't leave hers, and she glared back with all the courage she could muster. This may have lasted moments, seconds, minutes, Julia was lost in an invisible battle between the two of them, as she had been lost in her physical onslaught against the punching bag. She felt a charge passing between them and was impressed by the power he clearly possessed. Finally she said,

'What are you doing here?'

'This is my house – I can go wherever I want.'

'Don't you have your own personal dojo or something? Anyway, why were you watching me?'

'You seemed so caught up in your training – I didn't want to disturb you. Think how easily I could have walked up behind you and slit your throat, and you never would have known.' A glint of a threat seemed to flicker in his eyes, and Julia felt that he might, if she gave him a reason to,

'Whatever,' she said, picking up her kit bag, 'I think you just like perving on girls while they train.'

'Just like you like perving on guys while they try to enjoy a glass of champagne in peace?' Julia flushed as she recalled her close observation of Jin on the night of the champagne reception,

'For your information, I was not perving I was. . . spying.' Jin raised a sceptical eyebrow, and Julia wondered why she had said this,

'Spying?'

'Yes. I have been instructed to keep a close eye on you.'

'By who?'

'That, is classified information.' She said this is a playful tone, and felt that they both shared a recognition of the joke.

Jin laughed briefly, and eyed her closely as she moved out of the room, a slight smile on his lips. She did not know why, but Julia turned to look at him one last time, unaware that he was still watching her. As their eyes met, she felt the cold fear she used to encounter replaced by a heat, in some ways more powerful than the previous sensation. It was the heat of rivalry – the balance of power had changed and she was no longer below him, instead she had risen to his level and now they stood on equal footing, the friction of competition alive between them. She felt this as a taste, like fresh blood in her mouth, and wanted, more than anything, to fight and beat him. For a brief moment, all thoughts of deforestation, pride and friendship melted away, and the only thing that mattered to her in this tournament was conquering Jin Kazama.

----------------------------------

Next Instalment, _The Second Fight_: Julia and Eddy compete in a furious bid to remain in the King of Iron Fist Tournament.


	7. The Second Fight

Because this fic is turning into something somewhat larger than I had originally anticipated (which is a good thing because I find it really exciting to write) I've decided to divide it into parts, probably three of them, between which I will take a break of a few weeks to allow myself a little rest without disrupting the flow of the story too much. So right now we're on Part 1 and I'll let you know when it finishes.

-----------------------------------

The Second Fight

Rain lashed the window of Julia's room. Normally the rhythmic beat would have soothed and comforted her, but now it seemed like a drum of war, calling her to be tested. It was the day of her second match, and though Julia felt prepared, she knew it would be a difficult one, and anxiety seemed to play under the surface of her skin like an itch she couldn't quell.

Steadily she rose from her seat and picked up her kit bag; the match was less than an hour away. She had woken early to warm herself up and do some last-minute training, and the hours approaching the fight had been filled with meditation and mental preparation.

The pattering of the rain reverberated round the entire mansion and could be heard even in the most central rooms as a dull rumble. Gradually her nervousness melted, giving way to a stronger sensation – that of the fight. Julia involuntarily flexed her muscles as she thought of the oncoming battle – the brutal physical struggle for dominance. She thrilled at it, and her heartbeat quickened as she moved towards the indoor sumo hall in which her match would take place.

She entered, and was swamped by cheers. Julia searched in the enormous crowd for the faces of her friends, but so huge and tumultuous was it that she could not spot them amongst the jostle of bodies. Looking over to the other side of the arena, she saw Christie at Eddy's side. Christie gave her a small wave and an apologetic slope of the eyebrows, but Julia understood her loyalties and nodded to show this.

Julia was pushed forwards suddenly and turned to see Xiaoyu bursting out of the crowd behind her.

'Xiaoyu, you made it!'

'Yes.' She panted,

'Why is the crowd so big, Xiao? It's only the second round.'

'Don't you know? This is the biggest match of the whole tournament so far.'

'Xiaoyu, will you stay with me for this fight. My mother is usually here, but –' Xioayu interrupted her saying,

'Of course. That's what friends are for.' Though she imagined Xiaoyu had probably learnt this phrase from a cartoon, she gave her a grateful hug.

Julia knew better than to make eye contact with her opponent this early – she would be trapped in a staring contest for the next half an hour; instead, she observed Eddy out of the corner of her eye – he looked fierce and sleek, like a jaguar. He was healthy and alert, and though Julia should have been sorry for this, she felt a rush of excitement at being able to fight someone who was a true match.

Xioayu helped Julia to prepare – giving her advice and support. Julia, who had up until that point been keenly feeling her mother's absence, was now calmed and prepared to fight.

The competitors moved to their positions in the arena, and it was now that Julia fixed Eddy with a stare. He swayed and moved, his small, intelligent eyes, watching her constantly. Neither one allowed themself to be psyched out, and when the call to fight was heard, Julia and Eddy were more confident than ever.

Eddy swayed almost hypnotically, then moved suddenly with catlike swiftness towards her. He was too fast for Julia to properly register what he was doing, but she guessed simply through experience that his first blow would be a low one, and in anticipation of this, had leapt from the ground, leaving Eddy swinging his legs at air. What Julia did not foresee, however, was that Eddy's attack would continue to a double corkscrew on his hands, and as she descended her shins were clipped by the spinning fan of Eddy's lower body. Her legs became entangled with his and she was thrown backwards. Eddy rose fluidly, but was unprepared as Julia curled her legs into herself and sprang with a propelled force, knocking him to the ground as her feet came into contact with his head. The roar of the crowd drowned out the grunt which escaped Eddy as he registered the pain in his skull.

Julia heard it though. She could not see Christie's concerned face, or hear the cheers, or feel the heat of the crowd; she was aware only of herself and her opponent, between those two she missed nothing. Every bead of sweat, every sniff, every twitch of a muscle registered and was entered into the equation which Julia calculated unconsciously towards the elimination of her competitor.

Eddy rose steadily and rushed at Julia, ready to use the mass of his body, a clear advantage held by him, to push her to the floor. Julia knew this move, she often used it herself, and met him with a hefty spin kick which sent him crashing through the border of the sumo ring. A moment of silence and then deafening noise from the crowd; it was not cheers nor boos, but just a collective shout of recognition that an important blow had been landed. The fact that Eddy had thrown himself so fully into Julia worked totally against him and meant that Julia, being small in comparison to most of her opponents, was able to deal a blow with not only her own strength, but that of Eddy also. She saw this fact as if it had been a physical object – her mind was so clear, she felt as if every smell, colour, noise was sharpened and she could see it all.

Eddy began to rise, but his arm shook and he fell back on it once more. Julia decided to take advantage of his position and jumped from the ground in preparation to land a downward punch on Eddy; as she descended though, he suddenly twisted from the floor. A leaf could have been slipped between the gap of the two fighters' bodies as Julia sailed past Eddy, her fist crashing into the floor, sending layers of dust spurting in all directions. Eddy had been perfectly able to stand; he had fooled her. One advantage Julia knew she had over her opponents was intelligence, however, Eddy had fooled her. He swung his back leg out under him in a jab at Julia's shins. As she fell, she relished the nature of the match – this was a battle not only of might, but of wits.

Both fighters had suffered a lot of damage and knew that with only a couple more blows, either one of them would be down for the count. Eddy stared at Julia ferociously; sweat coursing down his face. He wasn't trying to play it cool – he knew and she knew that both would do their utmost to win this fight – being knocked out in the second round was shameful, and beside, there was a lot at stake.

It was for this reason that the next few moments, in which Julia rose and the opponents stood at opposite ends of the ring, were consumed by Eddy and Julia circling, staring, bluffing. They were unwilling to attack, knowing that quick reflexes from the other would spell the loss of the match. The crowd were growing impatient and began to stamp in unison, urging Julia and Eddy to attack. Julia, however, had been doing more than bluffing, she was studying the way in which Eddy moved – Caporeira was dance-fighting, and dance was about pattern and rhythm, she was watching and learning the pattern behind his movements. She noticed that he would swing his arms left, moving his right foot behind him, and then reverse this movement, lowering his head as he did so. After three repetitions, he would falter to the left, then resume the movement, after two more he would falter left and the right and resume the movement once more. If she could catch him in the middle of a bluff, he would be unbalanced and might not have time to attack. The question was, was this exactly what Eddy wanted? Or perhaps he was studying her movements just as she was his and would know of her intention before she even moved to attack, in which case Julia would be knocked out and lose. The crowd were stamping with more urgency now and the call of 'FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!' sounded across the ring. Julia, however, waited patiently for the right moment. Eddy went through the dance once more, and finally, he faltered to the left and, as he was swinging to the right, Julia rushed towards him. The crowd was silent, Eddy moved to recover his fighting stance, but it was too late, Julia rammed her arms into his stomach, knocking him rolling to the floor. She darted to where he lay and, before he could use the last of his strength to rise and possibly trip her, she swung her whole weight into a low spin kick, eliminating the last of his energy, and causing him to finally lie still. There was a moment of quiet and then a roar went up so loud and deep that Julia wanted to cover her ears, but instead she bowed to her unconscious opponent and turned to exit the ring. She wanted to laugh and dance and cheer, but her mother had taught her that in victory one was humble, just as one was in defeat. Xioayu ran to Julia and started babbling excitedly. It might have been Chinese or English, either way Julia couldn't understand a word, and simply nodded beaming; finally she grabbed Xiaoyu in a mighty hug, and the two of them tumbled clinging to one another through the crowd to the door.

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Next instalment, _The Meeting_: Up the spiral staircase towards a labyrinth of darkness and secrecy, Julia grows closer to discovering a terrible truth hidden in the Mishima Mansion.


	8. The Meeting

Back again! I know I've said it before, but thank-you for the supportive reviews. I really do appreciate each and every one.

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The Meeting

Xioayu had been spending more and more time with Hwoarang over the past couple of weeks, which was why it was surprising when, while at lunch with her three friends, she said,

'Asuka, have you talked to Jin yet?' Asuka was caught off guard by the question – they had been having a conversation about Julia's match earlier that day, and Julia and Christie had assured one another that there were no hard feelings and Christie would have to win the tournament herself.

'I haven't actually seen him yet, Xiao.'

'Oh, okay.' Xioayu cast her eyes down to the lump of chocolate cake sitting before her, and started to stab at it absently with her plastic fork.

'Yeah, like I said, in the end it's all –' Christie began to speak but saw that the other girls were distracted, and looked at Xiaoyu to find that she was stifling sobs into little snorts and squeaks. A single tear rolled to the tip of her nose and dropping into the chocolate sponge.

'Xioayu, what's wrong?' asked Julia. Xioayu wiped her face clumsily with her sleeve, leaving dark trails of snot and tears across the beautiful silk material,

'N-n-nothing.' She burbled, avoiding looking up. The other girls exchanged glances and Asuka said,

'Come on, Xiao, you can tell us.'

'It's silly, I just,' she snorted heavily and scrambled for a napkin into which she blew, 'It's just. . . you p-p-prooomiiiised.' She sobbed the word 'promised' so loudly and for so long that some of the other diners turned to see who was making the noise. Asuka cast Julia a look which said 'Not this again.' And Julia rushed to Xioayu's side cooing,

'Hey, hey, Sweetie, what's with all the tears? Don't worry, Xioayu – I've got it all under control.'

'You do?' asked Xiaoyu.

'You do?' repeated Christie and Asuka in synchronisation.

'Uh-huh.' She smiled at them uncertainly, wondering secretly what the Hell she was doing. 'Sure, Xiao. In fact, I promise I'll have a date for you by the next round.' Xioayu gave her face one final swipe with the napkin and chirped,

'Juria, you're such a good friend. Thank-you so much.' She grabbed Julia to her, forcing her to face Christie and Asuka who eyed her sceptically. Julia ignored this and decided that best thing would be for her to tell everyone she had everything under control, at least until she actually did.

That evening, Julia left her room to walk around the mansion. She visited the ornamental gardens, the library, the lecture theatre – all the places she knew the other girls wouldn't. For their part, they hunted for Julia and finally giving up, got ready to visit a local club. Once she was sure they had left, at around 10, Julia made her way to the Mishima residential quarters. There she stopped, at the foot of the staircase, looking up through the square worm hole between the winding banister, considering. She went away and returned again, and went away once more and returned again. Finally, unthinkingly, she took her first step and thereafter found herself climbing the long winding staircase towards Jin Kazama's room.

With information she had spent that morning gleaning from her porter, who seemed incapable of closing his mouth once it had fallen open at the sight of Julia in a cleavage-revealing top, she had learnt of a shortcut by which she could avoid most of the guards on the ascent of the staircase. This she took with some difficulty, as it involved climbing through windows and scaling disused fire escapes, but when she finally emerged into the corridor, flakes of rust still clinging to her hair and clothes, she saw that the route had most definitely been worth it – she was on Jin Kazama's floor and only one set of guards stood between the two of them.

These, however, were not your run-of-the-mill mall security type guards – the four of them wore thick black body armour, even to the extent of black lacquered helmets, and they were armed. Crows. Julia moved forward carefully but confidently and was only about eight feet away when one of them spotted her and shouted,

'Halt!' came the Japanese command. Julia stopped, and stared steadily at the crow. 'What are you doing here?' he demanded. Julia drew her breath,

'I'm here to see Jin Kazama.' She thought she heard a chuckle from one of the other guards, but it was difficult to tell through their mouthpieces.

'My ass you are. Now you'd better turn around and go right back down that flight of stairs or we'll escort you personally.' Julia was tempted to toss an insult at him, but straightened herself up and said,

'He knows I'm here. He asked for me.' The crows were obviously unsure of the truth behind this statement as there was a moment of silence. Julia took advantage of their hesitation to take few steps forward. This was not a wise move – all four of the guards drew their guns and pointed them at her. Julia cursed her fearlessness, which it now struck her was one of her weaknesses.

'Step back or we will open fire.' Announced one of the crows. Julia remained where she was. He repeated the command, but still Julia did not move. Her mind was screaming at her _This is crazy! You're going to get yourself killed!_ but on the exterior, she was calm and unafraid. She had set out to do something, and she would get inside Jin's room, even if it was in pieces.

'You have five seconds to step back or we will open fire.

Five,

four,

three,

two –'

'What is all the noise out here?' demanded a fierce Japanese voice. Julia untensed her body and opened her tightly-shut eyes to see Jin Kazama, appearing like a creature of the underworld from the thick black shadow behind the huge, ornate doors of his quarters.

The crows lowered their guns and bowed automatically.

'Master Mishima, this young lady claims that you sent for her.'

Julia could not see Jin's face, for it was masked by the shadow of a hooded robe but she could feel his eyes on her.

'Yes, I did. This way, Miss Chang.' Julia was too stunned to hear the snickers from the crows as she followed Jin through the enormous doors and into the darkness.

As she entered, she was aware only of a high, cavernous ceiling and many doors leading into dark rooms connected to this central one. The lone light was the flickering orange glow of a fireplace by which Jin seated himself. Though he had not bid her to, Julia went to the other armchair by his and sat down.

Lit now by the fire, Julia could see Jin's face clearly. He stared into the flames with an expression so deep and rich and unfathomable, Julia began to feel almost sick with fear, though she didn't know why. Jin made no move to speak, or even acknowledge Julia, he simply gazed relentlessly into some unseen abyss.

'Can I ask you something?' Either Jin did not hear the question or he did not care to answer it, for he merely continued to stare into the fire. Having gone through so much to get here, Julia's reason for coming seemed too frivolous to mention. Knowing that she would have to ask something, she said the first thing that came to mind,

'What really happened in that blast?'

Jin's head suddenly snapped towards her as if he were breaking out of some kind of magnetic field. He observed her openly, letting his eyes run across the floor then up past her feet to her head. He seemed to be measuring her up, judging her. Finally he said slowly,

'Someone was trying to kill my father and grandfather.'

'But what for?' Jin turned back to the fire, but continued talking,

'Possession of the company probably.'

'Then why not kill you as well?' Jin made no answer.

'But with Heihachi and Kazuya dead –'

'_If _they're dead.' Julia paused,

'What?'

'What if they escaped the blast.' Jin's tone indicated that this was a supposition rather than a question.

'But how? The papers said that there was no way anyone could have gotten out alive.' Jin did not reply.

'Who was it that wanted them dead?'

'Not even I know that. A formal investigation hasn't been launched. Jinpachi doesn't seem very interested in tracking them down at any rate.' His gaze moved to her for a second before snapping back to the flame. Jin's face was almost expressionless, but his eyes were intense and filled with anger, sadness and something deeper still. Julia was struck by emotion so violently and suddenly it felt almost like a physical blow. Something close to pity surged inside her. The feeling was deep and strong and primordial. She rushed to Jin's side, kneeling at the arm of his chair; breathlessly she asked,

'Jin, something's terribly wrong. What is it? Tell me.' Jin did not move, and yet it seemed as if a spasm overtook his body. His whole entity hardened. He stood up so suddenly that Julia was thrown backwards to the floor.

'I save your life, let you into my quarters, and you demand to know what's wrong with me?' Jin shouted this, his voice shook Julia to the very core. She scrambled backwards across the wooden floor but Jin stepped towards her. She reached the wall and dragged herself up, but Jin only stepped nearer, so near that he was almost upon her,

'What's wrong!' he screamed this, and behind his own voice was the sound of something sinister and other worldly, indeed his whole countenance seemed to have become menacing and ferocious. He shouted so violently Julia could feel bits of spittle against her cheek as she winced under the sound. She moved to the left, only to find that Jin had his hands on the wall, towering over her, surrounding her, caging her. Her heart was beating uncontrollably and Julia felt as if she had no lungs with which to breath. Before she knew what was happening, Jin had launched one mighty fist at her head. But no, it was not aimed at her head, but the wall just beside her head, which it hit with such force that bits of rubble fell away as Jin withdrew it.

Jin seemed to suddenly come out of a daze; Julia too was unleashed from the paralysis which had overtaken her. She emerged to find that she was shaking violently. Her fear was replaced with anger and she screamed,

'I would never let Xiaoyu near a freak like you!' pushing past him. Jin was deadened, and moved aside, his face glazed, as she went running out of the room.

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Next instalment, _The Third Fight_: The fur flies as Julia meets her third opponent.


	9. The Third Fight

Yoyoyo. Welcome to Chapter number. . . what number are we on now? Nine! Hozzah! I am hyped up on chocolate, so please forgive if this is a little. . . er. . . demented. Big Love!

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The Third Fight

The next morning the third round fights were announced and Julia did not get a chance to tell the others what has happened; for this she was thankful. She hadn't wanted to let them know that she had been avoiding them intentionally and felt strangely uneasy telling them about Jin's attack on her. The inevitable question came up however, as they scuttled along the corridor towards the notice board on which the matches were first announced,

'Where were you last night, Julia?'

'I didn't feel that great so I decided to turn in early.' Now they were in front of the board. The weak fighters had been weeded out and only the true competitors remained; the girls waited in nervous anticipation as Julia read the matches aloud one by one.

'Christie versus Ganryu. Asuka versus Wang. Xioayu versus Nina and me versus Kuma.'

There was a moment of silence as they absorbed the information and then there was a babble of voices congratulating this person and giving advice to that person; the most fervent sympathies were given to Xiaoyu – Nina was a formidable opponent.

For her part, Julia was pleased with the result – her speed and intelligence made Kuma an easy opponent, and he had not been fighting well since Heihachi's disappearance. She knew, however, that it was a mistake to approach a match with too much confidence and resumed her training in earnest. It was only this activity which saved Julia from slipping into a state of anxious depression, for in every pause, thoughts of last night's events flashed into her head, and it was difficult to erase them until she was able to get her mind on something else.

It was later that evening that Julia's phone rang and, as she picked up the receiver, the grainy but immediately recognised voice of Michelle said,

'Hello, Julia?'

'Mother! You don't know how good to hear from you.'

'How are you, Julia?' she wanted so badly to tell her mother the confusion and fear she felt, but instead she replied,

'I'm fine.'

'I've been following the tournament on TV. I'm so proud of you, Darling.'

'Thanks, Mom.' The talk continued for a few minutes until Michelle said,

'Julia, I have to go now or I'll be racking up a huge phone bill.'

'Okay, give me a call in about a week.'

'Sure. Good luck in your next fight. I'll be cheering for you.' As she was about to put down the receiver Julia yelped,

'Wait!'

'What is it?' there was a pause,

'Nothing. Speak to you soon.' And she clicked the phone back into place; a weight falling back on to her shoulders.

The days that followed were long and grey. The sky was eternally dark, and a gauze of gloom fell over the mansion. Julia went about her training as best she could, but the feeling of a constant shadow lurking over her made the days preceding her match with Kuma roll past at an unbearably slow pace.

The morning of the fight did eventually arrive though. Julia stood across the ring from Kuma. This match was taking place in one of the many specially built tournament rooms. Though there was a sizable crowd, it was by no means as huge as it had been at the last fight. Xiaoyu spectated while Asuka was off preparing for her own match which was to begin shortly, with Christie supporting her.

'Fight!' Julia hopped immediately backwards, only to realise that Kuma had not made a move – he swayed dejectedly at the opposite side of the ring. Julia knew he was not up for the fight – his fur lacked its former luster, his eyes wandered absently and he seemed not even to be defending himself – he just didn't have the strength. Julia had no time to take pity on the creature, however, and rammed her foot fully into his stomach following the kick up by twisting her body and swinging her other leg into the side of his head. He fell to the ground with a mighty thud, and for a moment Julia wondered if he would even get up.

His great hulking body began to stir, but before he had a chance to rise, Julia had him pinned to the floor and was beating him across the muzzle. The bear's strength was wavering, and Julia thought that if she continued long enough she could have him unconscious without having received a single blow.

All at once Kuma flung her from him and was on all-fours, a wild animal once more. Julia had been totally unprepared, and when Kuma began swiping with razor sharp claws at her shins, she had trouble protecting them. Finally, she had no choice but to lash out with an uppercut, knocking Kuma's jaw. The great creature rose up to his full height and gave a mighty roar, Julia scuttled away from him, feeling like an ant in comparison to the beast. Before she could escape, Kuma had wrapped himself around her and had her lifted into the air. Try as she might, Julia could not break the hold. Kuma's grip tightened and Julia heard a series of unpleasant clicks in her spine. She tried even more rigorously to escape but to no avail. Kuma pressed her harder still and a surge of dull pain ran through her back.

Julia hunched over crying in pain. She clutched her spine and reeled to the corner of the ring. Members of the crowd were rising in distress. Kuma galloped towards her, his mighty strides shaking the ring. He raised a paw to strike her, but as he did so, she sprang fully into him, an upward kick throwing his entire mass into the air. She had not been injured at all. When he came to earth, the shaking that ensued almost knocked some of the standing members of the crowd over. Kuma made a sorrowful whimpering whine after which he lay still.

Julia went through the usual after-match routine and retired to her room. Memories of the night before returned once more and, for the first time in a long while, she cried – long, deep, shaking sobs which choked her. Anyone watching would have said she was very affected by the incident and was only now coming to terms with what had happened, but Julia knew better. What troubled her was something darker, more complex. It felt unlike any usual feeling of fear or sadness; it was within her.

That night, when Julia did finally fall asleep, exhausted and drained, her slumber was plagued by nightmares. Crowds circled her, their dark faces looming all around, until they blocked out the sun. She wandered amongst anonymous faces, searching for one in particular, but never finding it. When she opened her mouth to speak, only a low animal whine came out. She passed through familiar places – Arizona, the arena, the ornamental gardens, finally arriving at a forest which, with a loud ripping sound, was swept away, leaving miles and miles of mutilated stumps as far as the eye could see. She tried to run, but found she only tripped again and again. When she eventually gave up and submitted herself to whatever cruel fate the nightghasts had in store for her, she was aware after few moments, of a light shining into her face. Opening her eyes, she felt instantly refreshed and cleansed. She experienced something similar to the sensation she had felt on her arrival at the tournament, when she had first overlooked the arena; except this time, it was not a brief shimmer of enlightenment, it was a continuous feeling of whiteness, weightlessness, boundless knowledge. She moved unhesitatingly into the light, and found that a figure emerged from it. At first blurred and small, it soon became visible as a man. He stood with his back from her, tall and proud and muscular. A warrior of course, Julia moved towards the person, knowing that in him were all the things she loved and took comfort in – Michelle, nature, Xioayu, fighting, Dr. Kasai. He was all these things at once, and Julia moved to him as a small child moves towards their mother, unconditionally.

Just as she was reaching out to him, the figure turned, and Julia saw with absolute fear that it was Jinpachi. She tried to scream but couldn't, she tried to run but couldn't; she was helpless as his huge head grew and engulfed her, swallowing her whole.

Julia tore her eyes open and lay panting on her pillow. Despite the flood of relief she felt on realising she was in her own room in her bed, the night now seemed naked and cold. Julia refused to slide back into the vat of dreams and instead spent the remainder of the night at the window, staring into the pale moon, which seemed to call out to her in its desolate whiteness, but there was no answer.

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Next and FINAL INSTALMENT OF PART 1, _The First_: A lone warrior stands in the evening mist, the breeze makes ripples in the cool water. What happens next will change everything.


	10. The First

This is the last chapter of Part 1 of _The Tournament_. Though I intend to continue this story in a few weeks time with the commencement of Part 2, the direction that the plot's taking coupled with recent events in my own life may mean that the story becomes a little too close to home for me to continue writing it. I know this may be disappointing to those of you who have been committed enough to follow _The Tournament_ to this point, and I am sincerely sorry for that. However, as I said, I do intend to carry on writing, and if worse comes to worst, I will let you know within the next few weeks. Before I hobble off to my bed, I would like to say a big thank-you to everyone who's been reading and reviewing, this includes:

Keia101

karisan

RoguefanAM

Stars to Heaven

SMAKSU

To you and everyone else who took the time to read my story, thank-you!

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The First

Over the next few days, Christie and Asuka both won their fights, and now only Xioayu's, the tightest of all, was left to be decided. The match was the last of the third round, and an important one at that -- the crowd was enormous and Julia, Christie and Asuka had to wrestle their way to their reserved seats in the front row.

Nina paced the opposite side of the ring, tall and proud. Xioayu, in comparison, looked small and weak. The fight began, and Xioayu quickly fell to her low crab fighting stance. Nina looked down on her in derision as if she had been an actual crab. Xioayu scuttled towards her and swung her arms upward. The blows had no effect. Neither did the backwards kick which followed them, leaving Xioayu exposed to Nina's bone crunching bomber, in which she flung her outstretched arms fully into the girl's stomach. The three girls winced in synchronisation as Xiaoyu's tiny body tumbled across the floor. Nina ran at her, driving her shoulder into the little frame, knocking her down once more, before she stabbed one stiletto heel into her chest and ground down as if stamping out a cigarette. The action was cruel and Nina's face pitiless; but then again, she was an assassin – she had no room for pity. Xioayu squealed in pain, but bounced up once more, her seemingly boundless energy one of her greatest strengths. Nina sent one long, slender leg flying at Xioayu, but the girl was too quick and had rolled clear of the blow. She kept her legs where they were, but turning her torso, attempted to use speed to hit Nina while she was unguarded. Nina, however, was too wily to be taken in by such a simple trick, and ducked, avoiding the punches. Before Xioayu had even reached the end of her combo, Nina had swung a low right kick at her legs, and the girl fell to the ground.

Xioayu tried to rise, but her arms shook and she dropped down once more. Nina merely laughed, and strode to the other end of the ring as Xioayu attempted again and again to get up, in vain. Julia couldn't bear to see her friend beaten so easily. She rose up in her seat and shouted

'You can do it, Xioa! We believe in you!' Other members of the crowd joined in the cheer and soon the entire stadium were stamping and chanting,

'Go Xioayu! Go Xioayu!'

Xioayu's expression transformed to one of fierce determination and she rose on shaking arms to her feet. Nina seemed unperturbed by any of this; she turned swiftly and charged towards Xioayu, ready to smash her to the floor. Xioayu, however, circled her arms and with rapid and surprising strength, knocked Nina backwards. So stunned was the assassin that she was unprepared when Xioayu began punching her with tiny, angry fists. Fueled by the cheers of the crowd, she used the last of her waning strength to kick Nina from behind and punch her once more as she fell to earth. Her little body shook with the effort, and Julia could see that she was near unconsciousness herself, but with one final push, she swept her leg out into Nina's side, knocking her out cold.

The crowd seemed to surge forward, and Julia pushed her way to Xioayu's side. The little Chinese girl immediately collapsed into her arms, and with wandering eyes whispered in Julia's ear,

'It was you.'

That evening, Julia, fearing more nightmares, did not go to bed, but wandered the grounds of the mansion. The night was still and silent. Julia padded across the grass, from place to place, not knowing what she was looking for. Indeed, she was unsure of what she was looking for at all any more; she wanted to recover the data to help her with the reforestation project, but she did not even know whether or not the information the Mishima Zaibatsu held would be relevant any more. Everywhere she moved, her research seemed to hit a dead end, and it was only her stubbornness which had prevented her from giving up altogether. It was no wonder she was dubbed a 'wandering warrior' – she was lost in every sense of the word.

Julia turned to the moon, whose silvery light was strong enough to illuminate her surroundings and cast shadows. Then she saw below it another light, a shimmering white light, behind a clump of trees. She moved towards it, brushing aside bushes and branches. She emerged from the thicket and realised that she stood on a small beach next to a vast lake whose surface quivered and stirred beneath the moon. A mist hung like a gauze of secrecy across the water, and Julia could not resist the urge to pull off her boots, drop her jacket in the sand and step into the lake. The water was so cool and still, and the night so silent and empty, Julia felt an instant sense of 'home'.

'Who's there?' a voice demanded in Japanese. Julia looked up to see that it was a man, just a few yards away. She could see that he stood knee-deep in the water, but he was framed by the bright reflection of the moonlight, and was no more than a dark blur in Julia's eyes. He moved towards her, and as he became clearer, Julia felt her stomach disappear temporarily, leaving a hole in her body. It was Jin. He stopped a few feet from her, and Julia now felt her heart thumping at her rib-cage. Whether it was fear, excitement, anger or a combination of the three, she could not tell.

Jin could now see her, but he did not speak for some time, merely stood there, looking at her. Finally he said,

'What are you doing here?' Julia flung back automatically,

'You don't own the lake.'

'Actually I do.' Silence. Then Jin said,

'Leave.' Julia stood firm and, tilting her head to one side, replied,

'Make me.' Jin did not respond at first but, after a few moments, began to move towards where Julia stood. When he was only a foot or so from her, he flung a kick at her head with such force and speed that she would not have been able to avoid it, had she not heard the splash of his leg exiting the water beforehand. She ducked swiftly, droplets of water scattering across her hair and back, and attempted to deal a low punch to his shins. No sooner had she done so than Jin leapt clear, aiming his own punch at her head. She however, had moved backwards, and was running towards him until he blocked her and attempted to kick her side, which she swerved away from his leg. This move she followed with her own high kick which did not land. Jin tried to counter her with a series of punches, each of which she skilfully blocked. Julia saw that Jin's punches and kicks were not playful – they were real and powerful and if she were to get in the way of one, she knew he could do her some serious damage. She saw too that neither one of them had yet managed to land a blow, and both were using their utmost skill to try and beat the other. It was as if they were somehow connected, and could predict one another's actions. Punches were ducked from, low kicks leapt clear of; water flew in all direction, creating in the moonlight a cascade of diamonds under which the two fought. What was happening was a beautiful ballet – two great warriors parried, blocked and evaded, each one panting with the exertion. Julia threw a direct punch at Jin's head; he caught her wrist with his left hand, her knuckles just millimetres from his face. With her free hand she threw another punch; again he caught her by the wrist. She struggled against his grasp, and he struggled to keep hold. The two wrestled fiercely until they were thrown into the shallow water.

Julia was dazed for a moment – she was panting hard and her whole body was wet. She tried to move, but realised suddenly that Jin was still on top of her, pinning her wrists at her sides. His face was so close to her that wet strands of black hair clung to her cheek. They were still, their breathing the only sound to penetrate the night air. He moved towards her and pressed his lips against hers; Julia felt something swell inside her, and instead of shoving him away, she lay there, letting him. No sooner had this feeling overcome Julia than Jin pulled away again. He stared at her for a moment, and she back at him, her chest rising and falling in the water. Then, as if with a sudden insatiable hunger, Jin kissed her again, this time hard and long. He pressed his mouth to hers forcefully, like he was trying to push her body inside his own, and make them one.

Julia melted into the kiss -- she felt as she did when fighting – she knew nothing of Xioayu, Michelle, the tournament, the Mishima Zaibatsu, she was aware only of herself, and Jin, and the pressure of his muscular torso against her, and his hands on her wrists, pushing them down hard and the kiss, the long, deep, intense deliciousness of the kiss.

Jin pulled away unexpectedly, as if breaking free of a tether. He let go of Julia and leapt to his feet. Julia was left on her back, still stunned from the suddenness of the whole experience. She drew herself up, distressed by the expression of fear on Jin's face.

'Jin, what is it?'

'Leave' he said. Julia moved to him, kissing him on his lips, his face, his neck, pawing at his chest, searching for something. She, who was so independent and proud and strong, now wanted nothing more than to hold and kiss and comfort Jin. He appeared not to notice her, his eyes were glazed and he seemed to stare once more into an invisible fire.

'Leave!' he shouted, pushing her away so forcefully that she fell back into the water. Suddenly something changed in Jin – a convulsion struck his body and he hunched over in pain, crying out. Julia crawled desperately to him, searching in his face for something familiar. It was contorted into such an expression of malice and pain that Julia could hardly see any trace of the man who had moments ago been kissing her.

'Jin, please. . .' Julia cried helplessly. A scream tore through Jin's rasping breath and he choked,

'Julia, leave, now. You can't –' he hissed in pain, 'You can't get involved with me. It's too dangerous.' Julia's face was stricken with pity and distress, she could not leave him like this. 'Julia go! Go now!' She stared at him, her brow stitched with confusion and reluctance. In a moment of blind decision, Julia turned and ran out of the lake, across the beach and barefoot to her room, where she collapsed in frightened anguish, only now comprehending what had just taken place.

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And there it is! The final chapter of Part 1. Wait for Part 2 to (hopefully!) find out what happens.


	11. PART II The Fair

Well, it's certainly been a long time coming, but here, **finally** is Part II of _The Tournament_. Thank-you for being so patient (not that you had a choice!) and I really hope you enjoy the rest of the story!

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**PART II**

The Fair

The days between the match of one round and the announcement of your opponent for the next were slow and agonising. Julia, being an impatient person, found them almost unbearable. She would while away the time with training and research, but every minute seems to tick by at an excruciatingly slow pace.

On one particular afternoon, after killing some time in the gym and the computer room, Julia found herself at a loose end. For one reason or another, Christie, Asuka and Xiaoyu were all busy and Julia thought it a shame to waste such a lovely day – the sun was out and the blossom in the trees seemed more beautiful than ever, casting dappled shadows across her window. So, she dressed in some jeans, boots and a black crop top, trinkets of beads and feather dangling from her wrists, neck and hair, and set out into the city.

At first it was enough to be out in the sunshine, soaking in the sights, sounds and smells of the city, but after a few hours of shop-scanning, the novelty started to wear off and Julia looked for something more entertaining to do. It was as she was considering resigning herself to the sticky dark of a cinema that Julia spotted a poster advertising a funfair. Though her Japanese was by no means excellent, Julia was able to read the site of the fair and subsequently discover its location from a shop assistant, who also told her, if Julia had understood correctly, that it was only there for the weekend and was bound to be crowded.

It was late afternoon, and by the time Julia arrived at the fair, long shadows were draped across the stalls and rides. As the assistant had warned, it was packed; it seemed to Julia that the whole city had turned out, and she had trouble manoeuvring her way through the swarms of people to join queues.

A few Japanese youths, intrigued by the westerner, approached and tried to befriend her over the course of the evening, but she rejected each one of them politely, preferring to stay by herself. Once it had reached about nine o'clock, however, she began to wish she'd accepted one of them – the fair was now filled with couples and group of friends and Julia felt out-of-place. She joined the queue of one of the many spinning, twirling, stomach-turning rides, disguising her isolation in the confused bustle of bodies. She had two coins pressed in her palm, ready to hand to the man operating the machine; when she offered them to him however, he waved them away, saying,

'For a pretty lady like you? This one's free.' Julia tried to insist, but he refused once again and, feeling the mass of bodies behind her growing impatient, she hopped into the nearest seat of the ride, slipping the coins back into her pocket as she did so.

Lights flashed and music blared all around her. It was dark now, and the fair seemed almost nightmarish as grotesque smiling faces leered out of the darkness, lit spasmodically in red, green and blue. She saw the same man who had refused to take her money moving around the ride, checking the safety harnesses. Julia lowered hers over her head, ignoring the sickly smell of burnt foam and sweat that accompanied it. He moved to her, pushing the harness, she though, a little too far on to her. Before she knew what was happening, his hands were on her body, under her clothes. She moved automatically to strike him, but was totally constricted by the harness, which had locked and was pinning her back against the seat.

'Get your filthy fucking hands off me!' she snarled, hoping somebody would hear, but the thumping music drowned out her voice.

'Get off!' she shouted, thrashing so hard that her seat shook. Why was nobody helping her? She looked around desperately, but it was too dark, too obscure – it looked like there was a problem with her harness and the man was merely adjusting it. He grinned maliciously, his face a contortion of grime and hair. Julia felt white with fury and frustration; drawing back, she released a big gob of spit which landed smack in his eye. The man's face dropped, and wiping away the spittle, snarled,

'You little fucking whore.' He pulled his hand back to strike her, and he was gone. With a smack of fist against skull, he was on the floor, and someone was on top of him, hitting him again and again. The blows were powerful ones, and though Julia had wanted to kill the man a moment ago, she now feared for his life, so fierce were the punches raining down on his head. She tried to see what was going on, but was blinded by flashing, spinning lights, and could not move under the press of the harness. Someone tore towards the assailant, trying to drag him off the operator, but the man shook him off as if he had been no more than an annoying insect. Help was called for, and soon a whole host of men were piling on the attacker, dragging him away. There must have been ten or more, but they still had trouble restraining him as he thrashed against their hold. People ran to the operator, who was out cold, and probably had been from the moment of the first punch. He was carried on to the grass, where queuers pressed forward to see if he was still alive. She felt sick, was it the rides? Or the man's hands? Or something else entirely? Her head rolled forwards and she lost conscious for a nanosecond, before shaking herself out of it to get some idea of the situation. Those in the ride were straining against their harnesses to get a better view, and Julia joined them, searching for the face of her saviour. Then she saw him, struggling amongst the crowd of bodies, his muscles throbbing, his face a picture of rage. Jin.

'Let me out!' yelled Julia, but there was no one to hear her except the other riders strapped in, who joined in the shout. One of the operators had enough sense to rush to the control booth and release the harnesses. The people scrambled out, falling to the crowds of jabbering faces. Julia shoved past the scramble of men restraining Jin, throwing them aside one by one.

'Jin!' she cried, and at the sound of her voice, he seemed to freeze and looked towards her; as he did so, her heart jumped. He was raw and sinister, he seemed to snarl at her. She felt deeply, unnaturally sick. She wanted to run, so desperately that her muscles almost refused to comply when she moved towards him and repeated 'Jin' more calmly. Without any thought as to why, she placed her hand on the side of his face. His body relaxed, the men around him loosened, something seemed to drain out of his eyes, and he blinked as if coming out of a trance.

'That man groped me.' said Julia to one of the stunned ride operators, 'And if you promise not to make a big deal out of this little incident, we won't either.' Without prompting, Jin translated. The man opened his mouth as if to protest, but his eyes flicked quickly from Julia to Jin, and he snubbed whatever he was going to say and nodded weakly.

Luckily, it had been too difficult for anyone to be sure what had happened, and even Julia herself was sketchy on some details; she and Jin were able to creep away from the scene without anyone noticing their involvement in the incident, too wrapped up were they in exchanging details.

Julia and Jin found themselves in a secluded area, next to a kid's game with little yellow ducks bobbing around a mildewy circuit. There was a moment of silence, not awkward exactly, but something close – it wasn't that neither of them had anything to say, it was that they didn't know how to say it.

'Thanks, Jin.'

'That's okay. I can't stand sick fucks like him.' Julia couldn't help letting a twitch of a smile play across her lips.

'I'm not some damsel in distress, you know.'

'Oh, I see, so you were letting Greasy Fairground Pervert feel you up for fun?' Julia dealt him a playful kick at the shin. Jin laughed and said,

'Not this again.' Julia laughed too. This was the first time she had seen Jin calm, happy. The tournament and the mansion seemed distant now; it was as if the two of them were in another world, a world of candy-floss and mud, of lights and clangourous rides.

'Jin, the other night—'

'Look, Julia, I'm sorry, I . . . It's complicated. Let's just forget it ever happened.'

'What if I don't want to forget it?' Jin looked up, surprised. Julia reached out and slipped her hand into his. She looked up at him, a soft smile lifting her face, as the shimmering light of the water illuminated her features. Jin gripped her hand firmly and smiled himself, a smile of pure happiness, not tinged with sarcasm or malice, just simple joy.

'Feel like lugging a cheaply-made seven-foot Hello Kitty plushie home?' asked Jin and Julia broke into laughter, feeling a rush of pleasure run through her.

'Come on.' she said, and the two of them made their way to the nearest stall.

The shooting stall, the bottle throw, the darts stand, Julia and Jin nailed them all. Their physical ability made it boringly easy – even if their aim wasn't perfect, the impact was enough to win them the game. Despite the coconuts being nailed to their posts, Jin and Julia were able to lob the balls so hard they obliterated both. By the time they reached the strength test, their arms were filled with devils, Mickey Mouses, tigers and all manner of other unrecognisable creatures.

A group of young men were busy demonstrating their strength to a crowd of disinterested spectators, hammering the mallet down as hard as they could and high-fiving each other after every attempt.

'Want me to show them up?' whispered Jin to Julia,

'I've got a better idea.' She replied and, moving towards the group gushed in poor Japanese,

'Wow, super-strong! Me too?' The men exchanged mocking glances and there was a tactless spattering of laughter.

'Here.' One of them handed a coin to the operator, 'Let the girl try.' Julia shot a smile at Jin to reassure him, and wrapped her fingers around the mallet, pretending to have trouble lifting it.

'Want some help, Love?' bellowed one of the youths and the others followed suit, playfully knocking one another, sharing the joke.

'No, thank-you! I'll try!' She moved to the game and, lifting the mallet high in the air, brought it down hard on the beaten target. The weight shot up the shaft, knocking the bell clean off, and flying into the air. The men yelped and scattered, trying to move out of the way of the weight as it feel to earth. Once the bell had hit the ground, still ringing, the group looked up at Julia with wide eyes.

'Guess I don't know my own strength.' She grinned and, plucking one of the prizes from the arms of the dumfounded operator, grabbed Jin by the hand and dragged him away, laughing.

The two tumbled out of the crowds, laughing so hard it hurt. Every time they looked at one another it would set them off again and they must have continued for about five minutes before they recovered, panting and talking in spasmodic chuckles.

'Di-did you see their faces?' gasped Julia,

'I know! God, I haven't had this much fun since--' Jin looked at Julia, whose face was frozen in the aftermath of the laughing fit, 'Ever.' He looked at her meaningfully, and Julia returned the gaze as honestly as she could. Lacing her fingers in his, she said,

'Come on. Let's hit the Ferris Wheel.'

As the wheel made its rickety way to the top, Julia could not help but feel like she was emerging from some kind of repugnant pool. Up here she could breath the fresh night air and admire the view across the city. Directly below, a sea of colours flashed and zigzagged dizzyingly, but beyond that lay the clustered lights of the city. This landscape was quite different from that she saw back in Arizona, but just as beautiful.

Julia did not notice that Jin had his eyes fixed on her. He was admiring how lovely she looked, her eyes bright with enchantment, her skin softly warmed by the lights far below. Leaning forward, he kissed her, not in the rough animal way he had before, but softly, tenderly. Julia let herself melt into the kiss, and experienced, in a way that was similar to the glimmers of enlightenment she felt sometimes when she fought, a moment of pure untainted bliss. She was happy, perfectly and utterly happy, to be here with Jin, suspended above everything.

As the kiss ended and the wheel chugged back down to earth, Julia felt a lump in her throat, and turned to Jin who stared sadly into the distance. They both felt with heavy hearts that their lives would never be as perfect again.

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Yes, yes, sappy sappy sappy; I know! But I've never tried to pretend that this story isn't clichéd . . . in fact it's pretty much one long cliché . . . but who doesn't like a good bit of unabashed fluff??

Next instalment, _The Confession_: Shocking revelations abound as Julia's next opponent is announced and Asuka finds out about her relationship with Jin.


	12. The Confession

Late update, I'm sorry! Not a good start . . . The dumbest part is I'd actually written this well before Saturday, I then just forgot to upload it. Urgh. It's my brain you see – somewhere between trying to get three As to go to university and struggling to prevent myself from gouging out my own eyes with a compass out of sheer boredom – it fell out.

Anyway, enough eye-gouging and whatnot. I'm immensely grateful for the lovely reviews. I was surprised and happy to see that some of you are still reading after such a long absence on my part! Believe me, as much as I have loved writing this, knowing that someone out there is enjoying it too is a great feeling . . . plus it reminds me that there is a world beyond Chaucer . . .

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The Confession

Julia edged nervously towards the notice-board on which the next round's matches had just been pinned. Her sleep had been erratic of late – interrupted by nightmares and imaginings, and she had been back and forth to the board all morning, checking whether the matches had been posted yet. Now she could see that a fresh white rectangle sat on the board, and she scanned it with anxious eyes.

'Who have you got?' asked a voice behind her. Julia turned, surprised to see Asuka up so early,

'Xioayu.' She replied dejectedly. It was as she had predicted earlier, but she was still unprepared for the knowledge that in a week's time one of them would be out of the tournament.

'I've got to tell Xioa.' Asuka caught her by the arm as she was leaving and said,

'No, Julia. Why don't we go take a dip in the baths? There's something I need to talk to you about.'

'Are you sure it can't wait?' it took only a look from Asuka to convince Julia, however, who was not looking forward to the prospect of telling Xioayu the news.

'Okay, just give me a minute to get my stuff and I'll meet you there.'

Two sets of bare feet pattered towards the coolest of the three communal baths in the Mishima bathhouse. Julia slid into the pool, sinking into the blissful warmth of the water which enveloped her deliciously.

After they had spent some time soaking, Asuka began,

'Julia, you remember that night you were too sick to go out?'

'Yes.' replied Julia, feeling herself grow hotter despite the already steaming water.

'I knocked on your door and there was no answer.'

'Oh, well, I'm a really heavy sleeper and –' Asuka fixed Julia with a look of cool scepticism. Julia flung her head back in defeat and said,

'Okay, I wasn't there. I'm sorry I lied to you – I didn't want you to think I was just avoiding you for the sake of it.'

'Then where did you go?' Julia made a vain attempt to mop the perspiration from her forehead and replied reluctantly,

'I went to see Jin.'

'Why?' gasped Asuka in astonishment.

'I said I'd sort it out for Xioayu and I just thought that maybe if I went to see him I could. . . I don't know.' She sank further into the water, feeling the weight of her own idiocy. She glanced at Asuka, whose face was a picture of neutrality, enough to make anyone squirm. Finally Julia said, 'I don't know. I guess I just wanted an excuse to talk to him again.'

'You mean you've met with him more than once?'

'Four times actually.' mumbled Julia.

'What? Have you been having a secret love affair with him or something?'

'No! No. . . well. . .' Asuka's eyes widened, 'The other night, I couldn't sleep so I went for a walk and I came across this lake. I didn't know he would be there. I don't know what happened; one minute we were fighting and the next minute we were. . .' Julia drifted into silence, wanting to run and hide.

'Oh my God. You didn't. . .'

'No no! Nothing like that. It was only one kiss, well, two sort of. Three if you count the fair.'

'What about Xioayu?'

'Oh God.' Julia pushed the clinging strands of hair from her face, 'That hadn't even crossed my mind., I've been too busy thinking about –' she paused and looked at Asuka. Could she confide in her? Asuka looked back at her, her face naked and honest. Yes, decided Julia, she could trust her.

'There's something dark inside Jin. . . something powerful and evil. It's,' her voice shook, 'It's growing. I feel it more strongly every time I see him.'

'Julia, I think you should leave him. Just sever any link the two of you share. He's bad news and you have to think about Xioayu. You don't want to get involved with someone like that.' Julia knew that Asuka's words were true superficially, she knew this, and yet she replied,

'I can't. I just can't.' she felt her eyes grow hot with tears, 'Asuka, I'm falling in love with him.

More than guarding Xioayu, more than pleasing my mother, more than winning the tournament, more than getting the data for the reforestation project, more than anything I want to help him. I just. . .' she choked back sobs of despair, 'I just wish I could make him better.' She broke down and clung to Asuka who took her in her arms and embraced Julia, shivering, naked, and sobbing her very heart out.

Julia knocked at the door again and shouted,

'Xiaoyu!

Xioayu, I know you're in there. It's me, Julia.' She heard a quiet whimpering coming from the room and the click of the lock. There stood Xioayu, her face puffy and pink with tears. Julia began to say,

'Hey, it's alright Xioa –' but no sooner had she started than the little Chinese girl threw herself melodramatically on to her bed where she continued to sob into her pillow. Julia placed a hand on her shaking back and said,

'Come on, Xioa. You knew that at least one of us had to be knocked out of the tournament at one point or another.' This seemed to only produce more sobs from Xioayu, and after a few of these she raised her head from the pillow and said,

'But what if you lose? What about the forests?' this struck a chord with Julia – the idea of returning to Arizona empty-handed filled her with dread, but she tried to be as reassuring as possible.

'It'll be fine – I'll carry on my research without the data. And there's always the next tournament. Besides, you want to win just as much as I do – you have your own reasons which are just as important.'

'No they're not.' sniffed Xioayu, 'They're just silly.'

'Hey, come on. There's no one I'd want to kick my ass more than you, which is why I need you on top form for our match next week. So,' she dragged Xioayu off the bed and mopped her face with the end of her shirt, 'let's hit the dojo for a little sparring.' Xioayu burbled a weak laugh through her tears and replied,

'Okay, Juria. Thanks.'

In the days that led up to the fight, Julia wanted so badly to see Jin. She spotted him out of the corner of her eye, but when she turned to look, there was nobody there; she heard his voice around a corner, but when she moved into the corridor, it was empty. When she wasn't looking for him, she was thinking about him. Her insomnia continued and her fighting skills suffered. When she and Xioayu sparred, it was clear that Xioayu was more alert and capable of beating her opponent. Xioayu would laugh this off saying that the match would be a tight one, but Julia approached the fight with uncharacteristic trepidation, knowing she had little chance of winning. The only person in whom she confided was Asuka, and in her she confided entirely. She told her of seeing Jin at the champagne reception, talking to him in the gym, his attack, the kiss at the lake, the fair and everything inbetween. Most of all, she told her about how desperately she needed to help him, to cure him. Asuka heard all this with quiet neutrality, offering comfort where it was needed and retribution where it was called for. In sum, she was the perfect listener.

Xioayu hopped with youthful agility, giving a brief bow. Julia looked upwards, praying to the gods for the strength to win. The fight began. Xioayu belted Julia with a double punch, moving from one leg to the other. Julia returned with a three-punch combo which sent Xioayu flying in the air. She had only touched the ground it seemed, when she was on her feet again. Immersing herself in the fight, Julia aimed a spinning kick at her head, but Xioayu ducked low quickly, and spun her entire body around like a top, kicking Julia's legs from under her. She then kicked her once again as she lay on the floor. _Quick little thing_ was all that darted through Julia's head before she rolled towards Xioayu and aimed a low swing at her legs in retaliation, but Xioayu had cartwheeled delicately out of the way and kicked Julia hard in the side. Julia spun across the turf; she had thought that Xioayu might take it easy on her, and she was half thankful and half regretful that Xioayu appeared to be really throwing herself into the fight. Julia rose and kicked Xioayu hard. She leapt to punch her on the ground but she was gone. She moved so lightly and with such agility, it made Julia dizzy. First she was here, punching you, then behind you kicking you into the air, then leaping and hammering her tiny fist into you, when Julia did manage to land a blow, Xioayu seemed able to bounce back from the force of it immediately. Julia lay stunned and weak on the floor. Her head swam with fatigue and the beating she was receiving. She had enough sense left in her to know that another blow from Xioayu would spell the end of the fight and the end of the tournament for Julia. However, the match was tight – if she could strike one powerful blow, it might just have enough power to knock Xioayu out. The girl was too quick to beat with smaller blows, Julia saw that it was her only choice. She rose and moved to Xioayu, who darted to the left and then back again, her eyes bright and her face hot. Julia pulled her leg upwards in preparation of a powerful kick. Time seemed to slow – she saw with horror that Xioayu was ready, and in a matter of microseconds would have landed a minor but fatal blow, but there was nothing Julia could do about it. As she swung her leg, she was aware of a blur of pink silk and an impact. She steadied herself; Xioayu was on the floor, unconscious. The crowd rose up in a mighty cheer, but Julia simply stared at her friend in disbelief. She fell to her side and cradled Xioayu, until the girl was snatched from her by paramedics who stretchered her off, leaving Julia kneeling, stunned in the centre of the ring amidst the tumultuous cheers of the crowd.

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Next instalment, _The Discovery_: When Jin mysteriously disappears, Julia undergoes a conflict of interests which results in a shocking discovery.


	13. The Discovery

Back again with another chapter. Enjoy!

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The Discovery

Xioayu didn't notice Julia when she first entered the ward. The girl sat up in bed, a look of melancholy thoughtfulness on her face as she stared at the blossom tree outside the window. Julia approached the bed and handed Xioayu the bouquet of daffodils she had been carrying and sat on the edge of the mattress. Xioayu took them with grateful arms, remaining unusually silent as she smiled, the yellow bouncing off her plump, childlike face.

'You okay, Xiao?' asked Julia. Xioayu nodded her head, and relaxed into her pillow, still gazing at the flowers.

'Xioayu, there's something I wanted to ask you. You know that last kick? Did it seem kind of . . . funny to you?' Xioayu made no answer, and simply smiled out of the window. 'You know.' Julia gave a short laugh, 'It was almost like you let me hit you.'

'I did.' replied Xioayu simply, fixing her eyes on Julia for the first time. The blank honesty of Xioayu's face disturbed her and Julia stood up,

'You're kidding, right?' Xioayu continued to stare, a smile still absently hanging on her lips,

'My God. Xioayu, why?'

'I thought you want to win.'

'Well, yeah, but not like this!' Julia was pacing the room now. 'We have to ask for a rematch.'

'You're not allowed.'

'I've studied the rules – the winner can request a rematch at any point before the next round.'

'Not without me.' Julia looked at her now, honest and calm. She saw how much more mature she was than she sometimes appeared. She had sacrificed her dream without shedding a tear. Julia dropped on to the bed, taking Xioayu's hand in her own,

'Xioayu, you didn't have to do this.' Xioayu drew Julia to her and hugged her softly,

'Yes I did.'

Julia's fighting skills, however, continued to deteriorate, and when she discovered that she was up against Paul Phoenix in the next round, she began to wonder whether Xioayu's sacrifice wasn't in vain.

The reason for her suffering, of course, was Jin. She continued to see, hear and smell him, but never find him. He was as elusive as a dream, and Julia had to accept Asuka's advice when she said,

'Julia, you have to forget him. The fact that it's been so long means that either something's happened to him or he's avoiding you. Either way, it's best if you stay away.' Julia nodded in reluctant ascent.

And so she stopped searching for him; she stopped thinking the hand on the banister was his, she stopped supposing it was him every time she heard an intake of breath, she stopped scanning fight crowds for his face. She filled her every moment with work or activity – fighting, exercise, research. Whenever a thought of Jin crept into her mind, she chased it away, pretended it wasn't there. She pretended she didn't know him, pretended her every moment wasn't filled with the image of him, pretended the endless hours of the night were filled with peaceful rest. The only time that she couldn't protect herself from him was when her head hit the pillow, and the darkness became a canvas for Jin. Her thoughts were simply an endless stream of Jin's face, his hands, his voice, his tongue, his muscles, his suffering; and they kept her awake, with worry and fear. Though she tried to maintain an appearance of outward calm, her innards were tied in knots with the tension that clung to every tissue of her body. She felt constantly sick, and the idea of food made her feel sicker. When she did take a bite out of anything, she almost gagged on it. And so every day she would emerge from her room thinner, paler, weaker. Though she was training more than she had done at any other time of the tournament, she was deteriorating. Some days, half way through a fight, the strength would simply fall out of her, and she would collapse into a chair, physically incapable it seemed, of continuing. There she would remain for minutes, sometimes hours, the breath turning her lips white and dry, her eyes wandering beneath half-closed lids, as if watching ghosts.

Julia found one corridor in the mansion particularly intriguing; it was different in that the entranceways on one side of it were screens rather than the heavy wooden doors which filled the other halls. As Julia walked past one of these screens, she saw a shadow move across it, and knew instantly that it was Jin.

Undoing in a second what had taken days of discipline, Julia drew back the screen and stepped into the room saying softly as she did so,

'Jin?' There was no reply. She was in a small tearoom. A low lacquered table sat on the tatami floor and there were screen doors on either side. The only adornments were a painted wall-hanging and a lantern, which was switched on.

The clack of a screen shutting came from the left, beyond the room, and Julia moved towards the sound, pulling back the screen door and steeping into another tearoom, identical to the first in all but the wall-hanging. It was empty.

'Jin?' she called out, this time more loudly. Again, there was no reply. Julia moved into the next room, which was also empty.

'Please come out, Jin.' She moved more quickly now, from room to identical room, still calling out his name.

Soon she was running, throwing open door after door, shouting at the top of her lungs,

'Jin! Jin, come out! Please come out Jin!' Screen doors clattered left and right, her eyes were bleared and her voice hoarse, she ran and ran, and tripped.

Julia raised her head, her foot had caught on the edge of the table. She realised suddenly and shamefully that she had been charging around, shouting for Jin so loud that the whole mansion could probably hear. But Jin wouldn't reply, because Jin wasn't there.

Julia turned to retreat out of the tearooms, but, as if her whole body were buckling under her, sank to her knees in tears.

'Jin, come out. Please come out, Jin.' she choked, hoarse and exhausted. She was spent, she didn't care that there was no one there to hear, she didn't care that she wasn't making any sense. At that moment she was too drained to care about anything except getting Jin back. 'Jin, please, please. I love you.'

'I love you too.' Julia felt a hand on her shoulder and turned to see Jin staring down on her.

'Oh, Jin!' she scrambling up, throwing her arms around him and pressing her face into his shoulder. Jin responded, embracing her firmly, breathing in her scent, holding her.

He drew back, his hands on her shoulders. She looked up at him with fierce love. He could see, though, the anguish in her features; she was tired and weak.

'Julia, you can't go on like this. Listen to me, I'm dangerous. This thing in me, I can't control it.'

'Don't you think I've tried? I've tried so hard to forget you. I can't eat, I can't sleep, I can't fight. I can barely fucking function without you.' She gritted her teeth and thumped her fist meekly on his chest.

'Then I think. . . I think you should leave. As long as you and I are in the same country, you're in danger. If you leave, then at least I know you're safe.'

Julia faced him, stricken and confused, her brow knitted with disbelief. Her eyes flitted across his face, searching for something, some sign of grief, of regret, but he was just dark and deep and silent.

'How can you do this?' she whispered, 'Maybe you're stronger than me. Maybe you don't love me enough.'

'I don't love you enough?' his grip tightened on her, his voice raised, his eyes wide and desperate, 'You think I don't love you? I love you more than I've ever loved anything or anyone in my life. Without you, I've been breaking down. When you're not near me I feel like. . . I feel like I'm drowning. I would destroy this mansion, this company, anything, for you. And you think I don't love you enough.' His eyes welled with tears, he pressed his lips to hers. The kiss was dry and desperate, as if they were trying to find something in one another, an answer. 'I can't let you suffer as my mother did. I- I can't. Please Julia, leave now. Remember me, remember me as I am, as I was.' He quivered as he said this. The anguish evident on his face was so great, it was unbearable. 'I don't want you to see me become this monster. Leave now and,' he pressed his hand to her cheek, it was shaking, 'and we'll always have those few days. They were so perfect. Leave now and know that you've given me a more beautiful relationship than most men have in their entire lives. This way,' a single tear rolled down his face, though his whole body seem to strain under the grief and effort of what he was saying, 'We'll never grow old. I'll never cheat on you. I'll never make you sad. I'm a bastard, Julia. But in you . . . in you there's a part of me which is pure and good. If you leave now, that will never be tainted.' Julia was crying now, silently, tear after sorrowful tear rolling across her face. She looked up at him, this man whom she loved so much and so suddenly.

'No.' she shook her head slightly, never letting her eyes leave his. 'No. I'm not giving up yet. I'm not letting you resign yourself to this. We'll fight it, together. I'm not leaving you alone with this burden. If I get hurt, if you hate me, if everything we know and cling to comes crumbling down around us, as long as there's a trace of you left, I'll fight to save it. Whatever it takes, Jin. Whatever it takes.' She said this in a near-whisper, earnest and decided. Jin's muscles convulsed, but his eyes never left hers. She retuned his gaze with a look of defiance. He could not fight her.

Julia pushed herself to him, the heat of their bodies and their emotion welling as Jin leant down and they kissed, deeply, passionately, eternally.

Julia, however, was ripped jarringly from her trance as a voice said weakly from the doorway,

'Juria?'

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Next Instalment, _The Fifth Fight_: Xioayu disappears and Julia faces her toughest opponent yet.


	14. The Fifth Fight

Hey Peoples. Sorry about the randomness of the recent chapter uploadings – it seems that went a little mentalist and 12 and 13 both showed up at the same time (Friday?) even though I posted them a week and two weeks ago respectively. Anyway, I haven't made this one too long . . . don't want you to drown in the chapter flood.

P.S. RoguefanAM: Thank-you for the constructive criticism, it's always appreciated, but I think the things you highlighted would be too much of a habit to break. Most of the books I read are quite old, and feature paragraphs which span pages and phrases such as 'What a lark!' . . . so I guess we should all just be grateful that Julia isn't wearing A-line dresses and running around foggy moors . . . although it does rather seem to be heading in that direction . . .

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The Fifth Fight

Christie opened her door to find Julia, flushed and panting.

'Thank God you're here, Christie. Have you seen Xiaoyu? I've called her cell and her room. I've just spent the last half an hour knocking on her door.'

'Yeah. I saw her about an hour ago.'

'Did she say where she was going?'

'I heard something about Hwoarang, but it was difficult to understand her. She seemed pretty upset. What happened?' Julia inhaled sharply and said,

'Oh God, I think she's gone to find Hwoarang's street gang. I have to go after her.' She moved to go, but Christie caught her by the arm and said,

'Jules, I think she needs some time to cool off. She was,' Christie lowered the tone of her voice, 'she was angry, Julia. I've never seen her like that. And look at you! You haven't been this lively since your last fight. Just make the most of it – hit the dojo and train. You'll need to if you want to get through the next round.' Christie's honesty affected Julia and she relented, saying,

'Maybe you're right. I'm going to start right now. I just hope Xiaoyu's okay. Let me know if she calls. Thanks, Christie.'

From that moment until the day of the fight Julia trained continuously and vigourously. Christie was right – Julia's energy had been suddenly restored, and she could easily guess the reason why. When her porter slipped her a note on which was written only the letter 'J', she was spurred on yet more, knowing what it meant. The only points at which her spirit would falter were the moments she remembered Xiaoyu and was swamped by guilt and anxiety.

Finally the match arrived. Paul was renowned for being a ruthless opponent, and Julia knew that even with all her additional training, she may not have prepared sufficiently to beat him. Due to a scheduling mix-up the fight was to take place in a basement arena, usually used solely for the early unimportant matches; this only served to reinforce the impression which had gradually built since Julia's arrival at the tournament that this new management was slack, whether due to inexperience or distraction she could only wonder. The arena was cold and grey – the ceiling was low, and the crowd were separated from the fighters only by a chain-link fence which ran in a square around the ring from floor to ceiling. The lighting had a sharp yellow quality to it, distorting faces and movements. Paul strode the circumference of the ring with an air of cocky confidence, and Julia, though younger and more agile than he, was veritably intimidated by the solid strength of his muscles, which bulged from the ripped edges of his clothing.

As the two squared up to fight, Julia saw, not a lack of mercy in Paul's eyes, but that it had been forced back, squashed, by a more pressing, and very primal desire to win.

'Fight' called out the referee, and Paul ran at her with a punch. Quickly, Julia changed to a defensive stance, and though not hurt by the blow, could feel the brute strength behind it and winced at the thought of receiving such a hit. As he was returning to his fighting stance, Julia took advantage of his temporary vulnerability by dropping on to one hand into a Tiger's Claw, thrusting her legs into his chin and whacking Paul into the ceiling. The strip light flickered slightly and rubble fell to the ground. The crowd let out a harsh baying cheer, and Julia felt the thrill of landing such a blow.

Paul rose, spitting out a glob of saliva and blood as he did so. Julia drew back her fist, preparing to hit him with a G-Clef Cannon, but Paul was the one who defended this time, leaving Julia open to a bone crunching punch which slammed her hard into the side of the cage. Crowd members screamed like primates, their sweaty fingers prodding her, pushing her, just trying to make contact with her in some way. She felt sickened, but at the same time exhilarated by the raw dirt of the cage, the crowd, Paul. This animalistic lust for violence – this was what fighting was. With a renewed spirit, Julia flung herself from the fencing and ran at Paul, crashing into him with a shoulder blow.

Julia's stomach took a jump as she watched Paul recover himself – the cocky sneer had been wiped from his face and replaced by a grimace of ruthless determination. He strode towards her slowly, cracking his knuckles. Julia tried not to show how intimidated she was, but felt herself shrink under Paul's muscular bulk as he stepped between herself and the single light, throwing an ominous shadow over her body. Suddenly he whipped out one foot, quickly followed by another in a powerful scissor kick which caught Julia off guard, causing a lot of damage. Distracted by his attitude change, Julia had neglected her defensive stance, and for this she cursed herself. There was not much time to dwell of such thoughts, however, and Paul hit her again, this time with a low kick as she lay on the ground.

Trying to rise, she came into contact with his fist, and her head rang with cold blood rushing into her sinuses. She staggered backwards but, whipping a hand quickly across her nose and eyes to clear her vision, crouched as he aimed a high kick to her head. With calculated determination, she jabbed at his thigh. Paul buckled and fell. Moving swiftly and without hesitation, Julia grabbed his arm and, locking it between her legs, cracked it across her body. She rolled off almost as quickly, deafening herself to Paul's grunts of pain.

He tried to raise himself but his arm buckled and he fell back on it. Wiping all sympathy from herself, Julia whipped a low spinning kick which knocked him hard. Again he tried to rise, but Julia was there, with an upward kick, and down again, and up until, finally, Paul's eyes rolled into his head and Julia knew that he was out cold.

His knockout was followed by a tremendous clattering, cheering, banging, shouting and rattling such as Julia had never heard. She shook the blood from her face and relaxed into normality, slipping like liquid out of the trance into which she had fallen.

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Next Instalment, _The Search_: Julia goes in search of Xioayu, but finds something far more disturbing than she had imagined.


	15. The Search

The Search

Julia stepped out into the brisk air, delving her hands deep into her pockets at the first pangs of cold. It was unusual, the temperature, and the city's frequenters, accustomed now to sunshine, had retreated to their homes, leaving the streets relatively empty. Julia, however, was undaunted by the cold and thankful for the bare city -- it made it all the easier to search.

Pacing the pavement in anxious fretfulness, she glanced around corners, walked and rewalked alleys, peered down ominous steps, calling always into the frigid air, 'Xioayu'. But there was no answer.

Finally Julia gave up, turning back to the mansion, despondent and frustrated.

On returning to her room, she saw that the door was open and, expecting only a cleaner or her porter, entered. There came a fumbling sound from within, but as the room came into view, Julia realised it was indeed only the porter, who was arranging her tea tray on the desk. He cast her a smile and she returned it politely, shedding her bag and coat and dumping them on the bed. She glanced at him dubiously. It was he who had given her the first message from Jin and she hoped perhaps he had come to deliver another. He stopped, however, and began to leave the room, bidding her a good day.

'Are you sure there's nothing else you have to give me?' she asked hopefully. He paused by the door and shook his head, the civil smile still sitting lamely on his lips. Then, after a moment's hesitation he answered,

'Actually, there was something.' Julia's eyes brightened and she eagerly grabbed the slip of paper he produced from his jacket. He stood for a few moments more, watching as Julia unfolded, read and reread the message with hungry attention, before leaving unobserved.

'So, what do you think?' asked Julia. Asuka's eyes did not shift from the scrap of paper as she craned over it, tapping a pencil rhythmically against the table.

'Well,' she said finally, 'It must mean a meeting.'

'That's what I thought.' assented Julia, 'But what does it _mean_.' she plucked at the frayed edges of the sheet, which had been apparently torn from a notebook; written in a heavy, curling hiragana was,

ichiji. kyū

'One. Nine.' murmured Julia, puzzling over the words.

'What do you need for a meeting? A place and a time.' said Asuka. She poked at each part in turn, 'One is a time, the other a place.' Julia nodded, her brow puckered in thought.

'Isn't _ichiji_ the time? It means one o'clock doesn't it? But is it am or pm? There're two potential times in this.'

'And countless places.' added Asuka, 'Every room in this mansion has a number -- we don't know whether it's conference room nine, dojo nine, corridor nine. It could be just about anywhere.' Julia fell back in her chair, letting out a sigh of exasperation.

'So, what?'

'It must have a special meaning, something only you would understand.' Julia leant forward again, her frustration overcoming her.

'Well, through process of elimination, I think we can rule out one pm -- Jin doesn't really come out 'til after dark. But then what is 'nine'? Number nine bus? The ninth bridge? It could be anything.'

'Actually' said Asuka slowly, 'This part' she drew a circle in pencil around the _ichiji_, 'might not be the time at all.'

'Why?'

'Well --' she paused, 'Julia, are you sure you want to know the meaning of this note?'

'What? Of course I do.' Asuka nodded slowly,

'Because Jin wouldn't blame you if you didn't show up. He'd assume you weren't able to decipher the message.'

'What are you saying Asuka?'

'I'm saying,' her eyes traced the heavy black characters, 'This may be your last chance to get out. I've known Jin for many years, and he's a very hard person to abandon once you're close to him. If you leave now you could be saving yourself a lot of pain.' Her expression was one of plain sincerity and Julia returned it steadily,

'No. I need to know.' Asuka nodded without another protest and continued,

'It's the counter. You see -_ji_ doesn't always mean 'o'clock''

Julia looked at her in puzzlement.

'Amongst other translations, it can mean 'once' or 'first.'

'First? As in first place?'

'Not exactly, more like the first in a series of events or the first of a repeated action.'

'The first. . . the first!' Julia lit up with realisation. Asuka followed her, 'It's the first kiss. I know it is -- the lake. It makes sense. Only the two of us know where it is.' Asuka smiled gently, leaning back in her seat,

'Well then, the time must be 9pm. Mystery solved.' Julia rose to go, folding the message up and slipping it in her back pocket.

'Wait.' said Asuka, 'What are you going to do with that?'

'This?' replied Julia, pulling out the paper, 'I don't know. Maybe put it away with my research, or just throw it away. Why?'

'Burn it.' Julia smiled, saying,

'Thanks, Asuka, I don't know where I'd be without you.'

And so it was that Julia found herself pushing her feet into the moist sand of the beach by the lake, watching with quiet interest as it changed colour under the pressure, and held her foot prints, cracked and wet. She did this more out of anxiety than boredom, fluctuating between hope and doubt as she awaited Jin's arrival.

Her patience was soon rewarded however, as she heard the rustle of the bushes, and turned to see him striding towards her. A smile broke automatically across her face, and for a brief moment, as he came to her and took her in his arms without hesitation or any sign of fear, she felt perfectly safe, perfectly happy.

'How did you know I would come?' she asked, draping her arms around his neck, her fingers linked.

'Faith.' he replied. Julia gave a short chuckle,

'I wouldn't have placed you as the faith-holding type.'

'I'm not.' he replied, 'I don't have faith in anything. Except you.' Julia buried her face in his chest, in order that he wouldn't see her expression, for she was struck suddenly by a dreadful weight of responsibility, and feared he would read this in her countenance. She was the one person, the one thing in the world in which he believed, and she had told him she would fix it, but she had no idea where to begin.

The two of them sat on the trunk of a fallen tree, its surface smoothed by the years of water exposure, its branches sunk deep into the sand. Julia, leaning on to Jin's shoulder, felt something other than skin brush her cheek; she moved back to see that it was a bandage.

'Did you hurt yourself?' she asked, plucking at the surgical tape which held it in place. Jin immediately clamped his hand over his shoulder. Julia looked at him and said,

'I can't help you if I don't know what's wrong.' He grudgingly allowed her to lift his hand away and peel back the bandage. Julia tried to stifle a gasp. There was his tattoo, but from the original design now emerged thick ebony lines, which laced and swirled in solid black spikes across his skin. Julia ran her fingers lightly over it. Raw pink ridges revealed that the marks were burnt into his flesh.

'It's growing.' she whispered. Jin's head was turned away and he was silent, fearing her disgust. Calmly, Julia lowered her head and kissed the tattoo softly. Jin looked at her now and gratefully drew her to him, enclosing her in his muscular arms and kissing her forehead before they relaxed. There they stayed for a few minutes, his arm around her, she leaning on him, staring at the cool, shivering water. Finally Julia asked,

'So what now?'

'Well, I can't keep sending you messages -- it's too dangerous. We'll have to arrange a regular meeting time and place.' Julia felt a little relieved -- Jin had reminded her that he was as capable as she was. They were doing this together. She nestled further into him and replied,

'Good idea. How about here, every other day at 7am?'

'7am? That's my bedtime.' laughed Jin.

'The evening's too risky. I'm usually with the other girls, and they'll start getting suspicious if I'm always making excuses and disappearing. If we do it in the morning I can slip out unnoticed.' Jin sighed in resignation and kissed the top of her head. They settled back into silence.

'Jin, do you know where Hwoarang's street gang usually hang out?' asked Julia after a time. She thought she felt some kind of small convulsion in Jin's body, and assumed it must be for fear of her wanting to challenge them. She was in such a position, however, that she could not see his expression to tell.

'Why?' Julia hesitated and replied,

'It's Xioayu. After she saw us together she was. . . a little upset. She had kind of a crush on you. I think she may be staying with Hwoarang.' she waited for his reply.

'Behind the arcade, there's a network of alleys -- you can usually find them there at night.

Xioayu, you don't think she's told anyone about us, do you?'

'No, she was angry but I don't think she'd do that.' Julia rested unmoving on his chest,

'Would it. . . would it be such a terrible thing if people knew?' she asked. Jin seemed to move awkwardly,

'My family don't have any concept of love. For them the only function of marriage is to make alliances of power. When I do marry, they want it to be to someone of rank or belonging to a large corporation family; and you're --'

'Not good enough.' interjected Julia, getting up sharply and moving to the edge of the water.

Jin rose too, and Julia felt his hands placed firmly on her shoulders,

'The events involving your mother in the third tournament are still felt strongly by the Mishimas. If they knew you were involved, they might --' his grip tightened, and Julia felt herself grow suddenly hot. She turned to face him. He seemed slightly distant as he said, 'If anyone were to hurt you, I'd never forgive myself. I just --' now his fingers were pressing deep into her flesh,

'Jin.' she said, more shrilly that she had intended, 'You're hurting me.' but Jin did not let go. Julia struggled, grappling with him. She cried out and withdrew her hand, which had been pressed against his shoulder, suddenly, gripping it fiercely and biting her lip in pain. She looked at it -- smouldering, with the shape of Jin's tattoo already forming a bulbous yellow blister on her palm. The tattoo; Julia watched in horror as tiny black spikes sprouted from it, creeping slowly across his skin, burning themselves into his flesh. She looked up into his face, and was terrified to see that the blood vessels of his eyes were dilating, no, leaking! The blood filled the whites of his eyes, turning them gradually a deathly red. On his forehead too, something was searing, singeing, tearing the skin. Julia felt little pinpricks of pain running down her spine, as sharp nails dug into the muscles of her back. She began to scream uncontrollably, thrashing, beating, tearing, scratching as she had never done before, until finally, she knew not how, she was free and stumbling across the sand towards the mansion. She hurtled forward blindly, not looking back, afraid of what she might see.

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Next instalment, _The Plan_: Julia and Jin race against time in a bid to uncover the mysteries of the devil gene.


	16. The Plan

The Plan

Though they had grown no less terrifying, if anything more so, Julia was becoming, not accustomed to, but expectant of Jin's transformations. She no longer felt both fear and surprise when they occurred, just fear, a fear so deep and sinister, it left her exhausted for hours following. As a result, it was all Julia could do once she reached her room to collapse on to her bed and fall into something closer to unconsciousness than sleep.

She woke at 6.30am to the shrill scream of her alarm. The first thing she was aware of was the singing pain in her palm, which still bore an ugly blister in the shape of Jin's scar. She bathed and dressed the womb, resisted the urge to burst the bulbous inflammations. She then flung on some clothes and trudged down to the beach, cursing the sudden cold snap. Still half-asleep, she was hardly aware of Jin, that he had taken her in his arms, kissed her all over her face and said emphatically 'I'm sorry.' again and again. Julia released herself from his embrace and shuffled to the lake. Crouching down, she dunked her face fully into the icy water and, having emerged again, sat with her fringe dripping for a full five minutes while Jin looked on in disbelief.

'Right.' she said finally, 'Now I'm awake. Let's begin.' She wiped away the water then swivelled to face Jin and parked herself cross-legged on a dry patch of sand.

'Tell me everything.'

Jin sat down opposite her and looked into her eyes, searching for the trust and the love to which he clung so tightly. Finally he began,

'Everything changed when my mother died. Until then I had had a very peaceful youth, raised by Jun in a remote mountain village, oblivious to the dark fate inflicted upon me by my heritage. All my mother told me of my origins was that my father had been a very great warrior and that he had died before I was born, both of which were true. As I grew though, it became evident that there was more to my past than my mother was revealing to me. For as long as I could remember she had been teaching me to fight; she was preparing me, for what I doubt even she fully knew. Then one day she told me "Jin, you have a grandfather named Heihachi Mishima who lives in Honmaru. If anything should ever happen to me, I want you to find him." At first I was too shocked at learning of my grandfather's existence to make the link to the Mishima Zaibatsu or think how peculiar a thing that was for her to say. I understood later, though, when Ogre came to Yakushima. I tried to defend my mother, but I wasn't strong enough, and she was killed.

On Jun's instruction, I went to Honmaru and sought out Heihachi. When he discovered that I truly was his grandson, and Kazuya's son, he took me under his wing immediately. Despite my grandfather making every provision possible for me – my chambers, money, servants – I was unhappy. My mother's death, apart from being a terrible loss, had awakened something within me, something evil. Every day I could feel it brewing inside of me, and I lived in constant fear that this demon, whatever it was, would be unleashed at any moment. In my situation, friends or any normal social life was completely out of the question. Anger, deep anger, is created through love of someone -- when they hurt you, or when someone hurts them. I learnt this through the love I had for my mother. The risk if I were to become attached to anyone would be too great. So I fought. Heihachi was eager to hone my skills, and through rigorous training I added Mishima-style karate to my repertoire. I began prowling the streets, looking for fights, that's how I became aware of Hwoarang's gang, but also why I never became a member. Fighting was the only form of human contact I had, so I thrived on it, and became good. No, I became the best. The only person whom I allowed myself to grow close to was Heihachi. I suppose it was some naïve concept of familial bonds, or my desire for some kind of father, which convinced me that I could trust him. That made his betrayal all the more terrible.

It was at the end of the third King of Iron Fist Tournament. After I had defeated Ogre, after Heihachi had got what he needed out of me, he shot me. He tried to murder me in cold blood, just as he did my father. That was when I first transformed. All I remember was a blinding rage, and then, nothing.

I had been a fool to believe in Heihachi, but whether or not the people I loved betrayed me, they were a threat. That's why I withdrew into the shadows of Brisbane, a place where few people knew who I was, a place where I hoped the Mishima Zaibatsu wouldn't find me. It seemed that everything connected with the Mishimas was soiled or corrupted in some way. Even my mother, the purest woman I've ever known, was destroyed by them. I wanted to be rid of them, for good. I couldn't bear the thought of becoming like them, but then every time I looked in the mirror, there was my tattoo, singed into my very flesh, a constant reminder of what seemed my inescapable fate. I purged myself of every trait I could – my fighting style, my connections, my money; but then there was always the Devil Gene, lurking, waiting.

When I got word that the fourth tournament had been a announced, with the Zaibatsu as first prize, I knew, whether or not the offer was bullshit, it was a chance for me to destroy the Mishimas once and for all.

And I very nearly did. While I was plunged into that deep black emptiness, on the brink of eliminating Heihachi once and for all, a vision cut through it all. A vision of my mother. I realised at that moment that by killing Heihachi, I was only perpetuating the destruction he creates and nurtures. Rather than alienating myself from the Mishimas, I was becoming one of them. I fled, but the unbearable turmoil I was suffering, it did something. I don't know, I just snapped.

When I came to my senses, I was in the middle of some kind of wasteland, blackened and burned. White flakes of ash floated like snow around me. I realised that I was in a forest, or what had once been a forest. All that remained of it now, though, were the smouldering stumps and charred, splintered trunks of trees, torn from the earth as if by a whirlwind.' Julia felt an angry pang of recognition. She never failed to be outraged by the destruction of the natural environment.

'There were marks on the wood, like animal talons.' Jin turned his palms towards Julia, 'It was my hands. These hands.' He looked at them, he looked at them for a long time. Julia watched his face, which was knitted with grief and guilt. 'If I could level a forest with my bare hands, think what I could do to a person.' Julia thought she sensed a kind of thrill in Jin's voice, but it melted into sadness as he continued,

'Now I just want a way to cure myself, not merely for my own sake by for the sakes of all the people I might hurt if the devil gene overcomes me. I just thought that in entering the tournament I could do something. Or,' he paused, lost in thought as his eyes scanned the vast stretch of the cool lake, 'at the very least I could have one last victory, before it's all over.'

Julia sat in silence for several moments, trying to arrange in her mind all that she had heard and decide how best to reply to such a torrent of personal information. Something in the sudden and fast-paced outpouring gave her the impression that these were things Jin had been pondering for a long time, chewing over different verbal phrasings, wanting to tell someone, but that she had been the first one privy to them. Finally she answered meekly,

'Thank-you, Jin.' She glanced up to see how he was reacting, but he did not look troubled, in fact, she thought she saw something of relief in his expression.

'You said Heihachi killed your father, then how is it that Kazuya is still alive?'

'G-Corporation resurrected him after Heihachi threw him into the volcano. I believe they conducted some sort of experiment on him, one of the effects of which appears to have been to halt the development of the devil gene.'

'Well if that's so, why couldn't the same technology be used to save you too?'

'G-Corporation was destroyed. Heihachi made sure of that. He'll stop at nothing to eliminate my father.'

'Are you certain that's the only reason he destroyed G-Corporation?' Jin looked at her quizzically. She continued,

'Heihachi's no fool. Surely he would want to obtain a weapon as powerful as the devil gene if he could.'

'So you think he might have the data somewhere?' She nodded,

'As long as it wasn't destroyed with Honmaru, I think so.'

'Even if Heihachi were alive, how would we find it?'

'Well, they'd want to use the information in experiments; so even if the data itself has been destroyed, wouldn't they keep some kind of record of it all in the laboratories? There must be an answer somewhere, some kind of documentation to tell us what it was that stopped the deterioration in you father.'

'You're right. The lab computer system is linked to the mansion. They must store it all on there.'

'Don't you have access to it? You're the heir to the company after all.'

'I did have an account, but there were certain restrictions even for me. Chances are the records we need are only available to Heihachi and a handful of scientists.'

'Do you know where any of those scientists are?'

'The ones who haven't already been killed will be difficult to find.'

'But it is possible?' Jin looked at Julia, and, spurred on by the earnestness of her expression said,

'Yes. I know of at least one scientist who still works for the Zaibatsu. He was too valuable, it seems, to dispose of.'

'Then we'll find him.'

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Next instalment, _The Sixth Fight_: The competition intensifies and Julia finds herself facing opponents both physical and mental


	17. The Sixth Fight

Hi, Everyone. Thanks for reading and reviewing. I know there's been a bit of a lag in this fic since I realised that it kind of needs . . . a plot . . . but hopefully this instalment has a little more razzle-dazzle.

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**The Sixth Fight**

Julia felt her head slam against the stone floor. Loosing the bloodied spittle from her chin, she pushed herself up and faced Lee once more. She didn't like his eyes, malicious little fucker. She readied herself for another onslaught and Lee responded with a casually flick of his silver hair followed by a darting mid kick. Julia was prepared though, and fended off the blow, delivering three swift stinging punches to that smirking little face of his.

Before she had time to think, Lee had recovered himself and was jabbing low kicks at her legs. Julia fell to the ground and felt him slice at her side with his foot, knocking the wind out of her again. Rising with a spring, Julia's skin prickled with rage at these frustrating little nips and pinches which were gradually wearing her down. Lee shifted his weight on to his back leg and, with a haughty, fluid motion, beckoned to Julia. He was taunting her. She felt herself bristle with anger at the gesture, and ran at him with tremendous force. With equal force and twice the speed, however, Lee let his leg lash out, cracking Julia's body back to the ground.

_Malicious little fucker._ She thought, _Malicious little fucker._ Rising to her feet, Julia dealt a strong kick to Lee's head. She smirked at the look of utter shock on his face as he spat a tooth into his palm. There was no time for gloating, however, for no sooner had he looked up in vain fury, Lee kneed Julia in the face. She felt her nose burst in pain and was temporarily blinded in the confusion of blood and dizziness. Her head snapped back again, and again, and more blood dripped down her neck, and Lee had driven his knee into her face twice more. Stumbling backwards, Julia smeared the torrent of blood from her chin, and focused. Lee stood about ten feet from her, his head in his palm in mock boredom.

Julia felt herself suddenly filled with a tearing, biting, primal rage. _Malicious little fucker. Malicious little fucker._ Though she had been weak, almost on the brink of collapse, her muscles now tightened at the thought of slamming her fist into his face. Which was exactly what she did. In the next moment she had rushed at Lee, screaming in fury. She kicked, punched, grabbed, threw, pinned, pummelled, beat the living shit out of him.

'Ms Chang, KO!' yelled an official, in a tone which showed it was not the first time it had been said. Julia, her bloodied fist poised in midair, ready to land another blow on the already unconscious Lee, let go of the man's prone body, and got to her feet. Her ears were ringing, but she distinctly heard booing in amongst the cheers of the crowd. Limping to the edge of the arena, she met Christie, who looked almost as stunned as she herself felt.

'What was that?' asked the Brazilian girl.

'I – I don't know.'

'Jesus Christ, look at him.' Julia turned, and saw that Lee's hair had been soaked red. His face was riddled with cuts and marks which were already beginning to swell unpleasantly. She swallowed hard.

Christie tore off a strip of bandage and began winding it around Julia's knuckles, which were raw.

'That was some show. I thought you might kill the poor bastard.'

'Fuck.' murmured Julia.

'Keep on fighting like that and you're in with a good chance of winning this tournament.'

'Fuck.

But look at him Chris.' Christie glanced over at the man, who was now being lifted on to a stretcher, his arm dangling limp over the edge. She winced at the sight, but said nothing except,

'Let's go to the medical wing and let them take a look at your nose.'

Julia let the dull hum of the fan throb in her head. Staring up at the ceiling, she felt an unpleasant hollowness. She should be happy, ecstatic: she had beaten her toughest competitor yet, but that horrible nagging pull in her stomach wouldn't let her forget Lee's face, mashed into a bloody pulp. Her knuckles were still raw, making her wince every time she flexed her fists. And then there was the burn, too, which, though not too severe, had left a scab on her palm, distinctly shaped like Jin's tattoo, which was why she had taken to wearing a bandage over her right palm or leather driving gloves at all times

Her guilt seemed to stir other unwanted emotions from the bed of her mind. Her anxiety for Jin being the most pressing. As much as she tried to ignore it, he was weakening. And in the moments when the laughter gave way to silence, and he would look at her with those sad dark eyes, it was almost too much to bear.

Julia lifted herself from the bed and went to the window, resting her forehead against the cold glass. The receding rooftops and tufts of greenery seemed to swim into a blur as she thought of the question. The one which had been plaguing her for weeks, tugging at her sleeve like a needy child, the one which she refused to acknowledge. Now, as Julia let her visual focus slip between the mounting clouds outside and the speckles of white dirt which sat on the window pane, the question seemed to ambush her, too loud now to be ignored. What will happen if she can't save him?

Her stomach tightened. He would be gone. The vision was to her a desolate landscape, battered by winds, void of any life, dark, cold and empty. How could she ever let him go? Why did this have to happen? To flicker into her life and then out again, with only the briefest glimmer of bittersweet love. What was the point? And all that was left to think was if only, if only it wasn't true. It couldn't be true. Shutting her eyes tight, Julia felt what she knew to be a foolish certainty that everything had been a dream, some freakishly real nightmares. It had to be. It was too terrible to be anything but. Opening her eyes again, staring are the mist of her breath on the window pane, Julia realised that it _was_ true, and in that moment she thought she would die of despair. She could not be rational or logical, she only knew that the person she loved most in the world might soon be gone forever. It seemed impossible, someone so strong, so solid, so alive could, with a single breath, disappear. Her body seemed to crumble away, and for a long while she stood there, rigid, hitting her forehead slowly against the window again and again, lost in grief.

Finally she blinked, and the tearing white feeling melted away instantly, replaced by the former stagnant mix of guilt and anxiety. Straightening her hair, which was not actually out of place, Julia felt pathetic. How stupid, to get so upset over something which had not happened yet, and which might not happen. She should be spending her energies on helping Jin, not self-pity. Yes, Julia would wrap the question back up in tissue paper and store it in a box at the back of her mind. It would not bother her from there.

The other source of her guilt was Xiaoyu, whom, Julia reflected, she had thought about shamefully little over the last couple of weeks. Julia stirred suddenly from her stasis, grabbing her jacket and keys from the desk.

As she marched down to the city centre, Julia began to consider the rationality of her hunt for Xiaoyu. So she had mentioned Hwoarang, that could mean anything. For all she knew, Xiaoyu could be sitting on her sofa in China. Or she could be lying in a gutter somewhere in the city. Julia's pace quickened.

The sky was already a dim violet by the time Julia had reached the pleasure district. She did not know the area well and realised her idiocy at not having brought a map. It had rained earlier and passing cars threw spray from the slick roads. As it grew later and the clutches of people dwindled to a scurrying few, Julia became more and more uncertain of her orientation. Every corner and orifice seemed to be illuminated a garish red or blue by the neon signs which grinned ghoulishly at their disfigured reflections on the glistening streets. Women with white-painted faces and red lips eyed her disdainfully from low doorways above which flashed signs reading 'XXX' or 'GIRLS' or some indiscernible Japanese or 'XXX' or 'GIRLS' or – Julia stopped in her tracks and, looking around, realised she had been down this road already. With a sigh of resignation, she approached what would have been a squat Japanese woman had it not been for her towering platform heels, in front of a dingy-looking ticket office. The woman, or perhaps girl, Julia found she could never tell with Asians, especially those painted as thickly as this one, pouted boredly at Julia, glancing past her in search of prospective punters.

'Excuse me.' Began Julia in her faltering Japanese. The woman's eyes snapped towards her, and without looking away she bellowed something into the darkness behind, out of which emerged another, leaner, Japanese woman, who eyed her from beneath the fringe of a blonde wig.

'What you want?' she asked, in unnecessarily loud English.

'The arcade.' She said, 'I'm looking for the arcade.' The two women exchanged an uncomprehending glance.

'You, know, where you play games. Play.' Julia found herself unconsciously pretending to battle with a pair of joysticks. The girls burst into fits of giggles. The blonde woman took her hand and began tugging her towards the ticket booth,

'Okay, okay, you want play. Come play.'

'No no no. God no, not that sort of playing.' But the girl in the platforms was already gracelessly snatching at her pockets, trying to pry out the entrance fee.

'Hwoarang!' she yelped, 'I want to find Hwoarang!' Another burst of giggles and the women simultaneously made a loud noise of recognition, their mouths forming two perfectly round red O's.

'Mister Hwoarang! Yes yes, he vey good. Okay. . .' and, after a little monetary prompting from Julia, the women directed her to the arcade.

It was a colossus of a building, and Julia wondered that she hadn't come across it already. It was, however, in a peculiar position, tucked as it was, away from any main road, down a dingy side-street, rather, it would have been dingy, if it weren't for the myriad of lights which straddled two floors of the mighty building, glaring out crazily at the hooded teenagers who huddled in groups below.

Beside the arcade, there lay a little alley, barely big enough for a bicycle to pass down. Julia raised her hood, so as not to be recognised by the brawlers, who were always foolhardily eager to challenge a top Tekken fighter. It was also important, she thought, to remain androgynous – no point attracting any more attention than was necessary. Her fears, she realised on entering the network of alleys, were somewhat unfounded; she saw several women scattered between the heaving male street-fighters as she made her way through the dizzying network of back-alleys. Not just girlfriends or spectators either, fighters too, their broad shoulders and thick, Pre-Raphaelite necks betraying their trade. There were a few wary glances, but Julia began to realise that these were not directed at her in particular suspicion, rather, it was simply the way people looked at each other here. Challenges and insults were performed in an almost ritualistic manner, and the smell of adrenaline-laced sweat hung like a shroud across the back-streets.

Just when Julia was beginning to feel she would never escape this urban labyrinth, she found herself stepping into an opening, or as much of one as could be found here: it was about ten metres square, framed on all sides by the towering walls of buildings so high that if you looked up to the crack of sky at their peaks, you felt dizzy. On one side a chain-link fence, scarred by fights, cordoned off a corner which must have once been a loading bay, but now housed injured fighters, swearing and hissing as they rudely bandaged their wounds, or simply lying still, too still, Julia thought. In the main area, lit by a single flickering yellow street-lamp, there was a heaving mass of flesh. Fighter on fighter, locked together in a scrum of glistening sweat and tensed muscles. And the noise! Shouts of encouragement, derision and every expletive Julia had ever heard, and most in languages she couldn't understand.

Moving towards the crowd, she marvelled at the heat. The night was cold, but she had to unzip her jacket, and many of the fighters were bare-chested. Julia was unaware, as she shoved her way through the tightly-locked bodies, of the sweat and blood which smeared on her clothes, of the spittle which flew into her hair, of the surly men who cursed her, but did not have space to move and grab her. She was not aware of any of this because she was sure, sure she recognised one of the two fighters at the centre of what she now saw was a ring of spectators. She was sure it was, and yet, it wasn't. But yes, as Julia squeezed out of the braying circle, and was thrust into the central battle-ground, their eyes locked, and Julia was face to face with Xioayu.

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Next instalment, _The Betrayal_: Xiaoyu teaches Julia a thing or two about how to fight dirty.


	18. The Betrayal

Sorry I managed to miss out a week's update. Been a bit snowed under with revision . . . yeah, I know, I really should have timed this thing better. Anyway, this is the penultimate chapter of this part, sorry!

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**The Betrayal**

Xioayu froze. The other fighter lunged a clumsy punch at her, but she brushed him off as if he had been no more that a fly, her eyes never leaving Julia's. The reason Julia had not recognised her at first was because the Xioayu standing before her was entirely different from the one she knew. Her hair was unwashed, and sat messily about her face, which was made up with heavy black kohl. She wore a netted top over her black bra, leaving her stomach, and a lot else besides, exposed. She wore heavy black boots over tight jeans, and her whole body was tensed and slick with the sweat of the fight. She blew a large pink bubble of gum and with its pop, Julia snapped back to the present.

'What are you doing here?' growled Xioayu.

'I need to talk to you.' Julia replied. The Chinese girl let out a snippet of sarcastic laughter and turned to leave. The crowds parted automatically before her. She was revered, as she would be, for her fighting prowess.

'Xioayu!' Julia called authoritatively, causing the girl to stop in her tracks. 'I know I did you wrong, but the least you can do is hear me out. Ten minutes, that's all I want.' Xioayu turned, her face a mask of shocked fury,

'Who the fuck you think you are?!' she yelped, 'You come here start boss me around? Tell me 'Xioayu do this', 'Xioayu do this'. I gave up the tournament for you Julia. For you! I owe you nothing.' There was a low braying from the crowd.

'Fine then' Julia shouted back, but not angrily, she was aware every second of how crucial it was for her to maintain control of the situation, 'Rematch, right here, right now. I win, you have to talk to me. You win, I drop out of the tournament and catch the next flight home.' Julia's heart was pounding as she realised what that would mean, but she was resolved, and stared unflinchingly at Xioayu. There was a low murmur of excitement from the spectators. Xioayu looked back, and seemed for a second to be considering the offer, but, to the audible disappointment of the crowd, she spat back,

'You are not worth it.' And with that, she spun on her heels once more, but before she could take a step further, Julia grabbed her by the wrist. It had the desired effect: Xioayu whipped back ferociously and jabbed at Julia's face with her free fist. Anticipating the blow, Julia ducked low and delivered an upward kick to Xioayu's stomach, propelling her into the air. Xioayu recovered herself swiftly and sliced Julia's chin with both hands in an upward fan movement before Julia had time to defend herself. This she followed with a series of heavy punches and kicks. Her fighting style had changed, Julia thought. Less flowery now, more forceful but not so deft. It was not better nor worse, simply more difficult to predict, since Julia did not know her new moves. Julia hit Xioayu in the stomach with a two-handed punch so mighty it sent her toppling backwards into the seething crowd, who immediately shoved her back towards Julia, ready to hit her with a high spinning kick, but as she was twisting into the move, she felt something solid smash into her temple. She was suddenly in darkness, and stumbled witlessly into the apathetic arms of the crowd. There was an unbearably ringing and Julia felt like a cold liquid had seeped into her ear and was diffusing through the left side of her skull.

The loathsome darkness dispersed almost as quickly as it had appeared and as the figures before her shifted back into bleary focus, Julia saw that Xioayu held a small lump of concrete in her right had, which she must have picked off the floor when she fell, or which someone must have handed to her. Still half-swooning, Julia heard Xioayu say,

'No tournament rules here, Juria.' Her tone was mocking, and the crowd hollered with blood-thirsty vigour, but it occurred to Julia that Xioayu had by no means struck her as hard as she could have done, and she had not followed the blow up while Julia was disorientated. She could have quite easily K.O.d her on the spot. Julia was nonetheless incensed. _Fine._ she thought, _If she wants to play dirty, I'll show her dirty._ Grabbing Xioayu by the hair, she flung her into the crowd, kicking her hard in the side as she struggled to extricate herself from the knot of bodies. Xioayu screeched with indignation and tried to slap Julia, who grabbed her by the wrist and twisted, hard. Xioayu squealed in pain and frantically lashed at Julia's face with black-polished nails. She caught Julia on the side of her eye, and the American immediately loosened her grip, clutching at her face. With a yell of triumph Xioayu charged forward, ready to knock Julia to the ground. But Julia's fist suddenly flew at Xioayu's vulnerable face and as the girl reeled with the blow, Julia kicked her to the ground. Now for the deciding blow. Xioayu was helpless. Julia stood over her and raised her boot-clad foot above Xioayu's head, suddenly, ruthlessly, she brought it down and, stopped. The crowd stood breathless, Xioayu's fearful panting penetrated the night air, and little clouds of expiration brushed the sole of Julia's boot, which was poised just millimetres above Xioayu's face.

'Okay,' gasped the Chinese girl, 'We'll talk.'

The chill night breeze raked across Julia's face, stirring wisps of hair into tentative motion. Xiaoyu sat opposite, picking flakes of rust from the bars of the fire escape on which they sat. Julia glanced nervously at her, looking quickly beyond across the cubic vista of the city, dusted by the earliest morning light on the horizon. The shouts of the fighters far below, who had begun to disperse, was drowned by the whistling of the wind.

'You want talk, so talk.' Said Xioayu finally, still fixed on the flakes of rust beneath her fingernails. Julia did not look up either,

'Xioayu, I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I lied to you and I'm so sorry that I hurt you.' There was a pause, and hollow wind swept to fill it.

'But, I'm not sorry that it happened.' Xioayu looked at her for the first time, and Julia feared from the look of utter indignation in her eyes that she would throw her off the fire escape right there and then.

'You stole him from me!' she shouted,

'He was never yours, Xiaoyu!' Julia shouted back, surprised by the passion in her own voice. Xiaoyu seemed taken aback too, and for a few seconds could not reply,

'Look, Xiao. I don't doubt that you feel strongly for Jin, but what you have for him is infatuation.' Xioayu began to say something but Julia cut her off suddenly,

'I love him.' And the fervour and the sincerity in her voice made them both believe her. Xioayu studied her face unflinchingly and then, without warning, flung her arms around her, squealing,

'Oh Juria! I'm so happy. You love him!' Julia received the embrace with clumsy surprise, staring incredulously at Xiaoyu's beaming face as she drew back.

'Oh God, Xiao, you don't know how relieved I am to hear you say that. I was worried I'd lost you as a friend forever.' The girl's expression changed suddenly to one of cold resolution.

'No Juria. You betrayed me. All that time you could said something. But you never did, and then when I found out . . . I forgive you, but I cannot be your friend. Friends do not do what you did.' And she looked away, and Julia's eyes felt suddenly cold in the wind. It was as if something had been severed, and she said nothing, but nodded.

'Well,' she said finally, 'Christie and Asuka will be pleased to have you back at the mansion.'

'Oh no! I'm not going back.'

'But, Xiaoyu, as a senior fighter you're entitled to stay until the end of the tournament. What will you do?'

'I'll stay here.'

'Stay here?! But it's filthy, not to mention dangerous. And look at you, Xiaoyu, this isn't you. This is --' but Julia's mouth sprang shut when she caught the look in Xioayu's eye which said _Don't push it_.

'Juria, I am happy here. These people, they respect me. Here, I'm not a little girl. For first time I'm on my own. I feel . . . strong.' A girlish smile crept on to her lips, somewhat contradicting what she had just said, 'And Hwoarang . . .' Julia was about to jump in again, but thought better of it, and said nothing. Xiaoyu seemed to know what she was thinking though, and refrained from going any further. Julia got up,

'I'll let Asuka and Chris know you're safe. I'll see you, Xiaoyu.'

'Goodbye.' She replied, and pulled a cigarette out of her pocket, which she pursed between her lips, looking up at Julia.

Julia made her way down the fire escape, raising her hood once more as she weaved her way through the net of fighters. Just as she was about to turn a corner out of the clearing, she heard a shout,

'Juria! Good luck!' and looked up to see Xiaoyu leaning over the rail of the fire escape. She gave a short wave, and Xioayu's head disappeared. 

Walking on past the same building, Julia heard a voice spring out of the darkness.

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Next instalment, _The Warning_: Julia receives some unexpected news and catastrophe ensues. (I'm a poet and I don't know it!) 


	19. The Warning

UPDATE

For anyone out there patient enough to still be reading this, believe it or not, I'm still writing it! I'm afraid I've had a very busy year, and I decided to write the whole third part before I uploaded it, to give me the freedom to edit, since tying up all the loose ends is proving challenging! (not that I hadn't already thought it through or anything… *ahem*) You lot have been so great to keep on favouriting me and giving me feedback, so I feel like you deserve more than a slapdash ending that I rushed through for the sake of getting this finished. Once again, thank you for being so patient. I will keep trying to write whenever I have a free moment, and hopefully you'll see the next chapter go up within the next few months.

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The Warning

'Chang.'

She stopped, and looked into the doorway from which the voice had come. It was dark, but a covered bulb above the open door cast a pallid cone of light on to the porch, illuminating a set of knuckles clutching a cigarette, which they pushed towards a mouth. Smoke swirled in drifting ribbons up into the starless sky.

'Who's there?' she asked, her voice steady. The nameless man blew a stream of smoke out between pursed lips, and took a step forward into the circle of light.

'Hwoarang.' She said in a low voice.

The smoked curled around his features, ghoulishly distorted in the harsh light. His eyes, hidden in shadow, made Julia think of a skull's empty sockets, and she found herself tensing slightly. He laughed to himself and said,

'Hmm, didn't think I'd see you here. I mean, we get a lot of tournament fighters down this way but,' he laughed softly, 'didn't expect you.'

'What do you want?'

'Fuck, why the suspicion? I'm not gunna rape you or anything.' He laughed again, more at the distaste in Julia's expression than anything else. 'Here' he thrust a cigarette through the spotlight, but Julia did not move to take it.

'I don't smoke.'

'Your choice.' He said, flicking his cigarette butt casually out of the doorway. He tilted his head backwards slightly, so that his face was fully visible in the light, and Julia saw that he was regarding her with a cool interest.

'So, you and Jin?' he said. Julia had to check her surprise, but her anger was more difficult to conceal as she stuttered,

'How do you –'

Hwoarang motioned to the open doorway with his thumb, 'A lot of these buildings are abandoned, you know? You can go all the way to the tops of some of them.' And a sneering smile crept briefly on to his lips.

'How long were you listening?' she growled.

'Oh, long enough.

You're in love with him, huh?' he said this with a sardonic smile. Julia felt her cheeks flush with anger. She felt invaded. Hwoarang had stepped on something which was secret and precious, and now he was taunting her with it.

'Listen, Hwoarang,' she said treading forward ' you don't know what you're talking about, so I suggest you keep your mouth shut.' And without anything more she turned and began to walk away. But the next words that sliced through the still night air,

'My family don't have any concept of love. They use marriages only to make alliances of power.' froze Julia to the spot. She did not turn for several seconds. Finally she faced Hwoarang and said slowly,

'How do you know about that?' The man, who had been lighting up another cigarette in the brief pause, laughed, grand furls of smoke pluming with every breath.

'He spins the same line to every girl he fucks. It's a kind of,' he took a drag, 'routine he's developed. He picks out a new chick at the start of every tournament and then feeds her all this bullshit about his family disapproving.' Julia's expression remained unchanged, but she stood in stunned silence,

'It's pretty damn clever actually. All this secrecy crap means that once she's fucked off home he doesn't have to so much as write an E-mail and his reputation remains intact. I'm a little annoyed I didn't think of it myself actually.' And his eyes flashed with a sinister knowingness.

'I don't care what you say. Jin loves me.' But Julia felt embarrassed by how pathetic such an attestation sounded. Hwoarang smirked,

'And I thought you were smart. Why would he give a shit what his family thinks? He hates the fuckers. He's already been disinherited anyway.

Seriously, Julia, I'm trying to help you here. He only puts on that pathetic 'tortured soul' act so he can use you.

There is one thing I don't understand though,' Julia cut him off,

'You know what? I'm done. I don't have to defend my relationship to you.' And once again she walked on, but once again she stopped. Grudgingly, but almost without being able to prevent herself, she turned and said,

'What?' There was a sickening silence.

'I don't understand why he picked you. Don't get me wrong, I mean, you're a nice piece, but, he could have had someone like Xioayu, you know? She's a fucking hot little thing and then there's the added bonus that there's not too much going on up here,' he held a finger to his temple, 'When he could have had someone like that, I don't get why he chose you. What would he want someone smart for?' Julia's stomach lurched at a sudden notion which swept through her mind without warning. She was glad the shadows hid her face, or Hwoarang would have seen that the colour had all but drained out of it, as she stood unmoving.

Overcome by revulsion, Julia darted away, her footsteps ringing through the dark alleyways, mingling with Hwoarang's low laughter, which cut like a blade into the city air.

Julia's mind whirled with Hwoarang's accusations. There was no reason she should trust him, and she felt less than favourably towards him after the way he had spoken about Xioayu, but that was a different matter altogether, and one she would consider when she had dealt with her own problems. No, she decided, it was to Jin that she owed her loyalties; and when she thought of those dark earnest eyes, fervent with belief and sincerity, Hwoarang's claims seemed utterly impossible. And yet, she couldn't shake the slight doubt he had planted in her mind.

These and more thoughts ticked through Julia's head as the first eager birds began to sing outside her bedroom window in anticipation of the coming day. Grudgingly she glanced at the clock on her nightstand and saw that it was almost time to meet Jin. Her sheets were so warm though, and her pillow so soft. For a very brief second a thought fluttered into her mind that she wouldn't go, a thought which she shook off with an aggressive surge of love. She reluctantly tore herself from the mattress and proceeded to change her shirt and head out, stopping at the bathroom on the way to relieve herself and splash her face with cold water. She grunted apishly at her reflection, with its hair unwashed and dark circles under its eyes.

Treading across the lawn towards the trees, Julia felt thoroughly exhausted from the strain, both physical and emotional, of the night before, and a lack of sleep. Even if she wouldn't be much help this morning, she had to show up, which served only to add to her irritation. She was oblivious to the soft calls of the birds as they echoed across the lake, to the cool damp mist which hung above the water like a beautiful shroud over the distant trees, whose silhouettes emerged black and intricate as a latticework screen both against the pallid grey of the morning sky and its reflection in the glass-like surface of the water. Oblivious to the delightfully cold feel of the sand in which Jin had buried his toes as he sat patiently, content to observe and absorb all the beauty of his lake, of their lake.

He turned as he heard her treading across the sand, and the smile with which he greeted her arrival was enough to melt away Julia's frustration as she allowed herself to sink deliciously into his warm embrace. He kissed her several times on the top of her head, and then her forehead and both her cheeks, laughing,

'You're so cold!' Julia felt an irrational anger rising in her, and said calmly,

'Jin, I don't think today's the best day for this.' Jin raised his eyebrows slightly in surprise,

'Is everything okay?' he asked.

'Yeah, I'm just a little.' She touched her hand to her forehead in a brief, inconsequential gesture.

'Did you find out anything about that scientist?'

'Please, Jin,' she replied, trying not to betray what she knew was an unreasonable annoyance, 'I'm just not in the mood this morning, just let me get some sleep and we'll talk about it tomorrow.'

'Okay, okay.' He murmured, drawing her to him. She responded stiffly, feeling the weight of tiredness as he stroked her hair and lulled her softly. 'At least stay here with me' he went on, 'just for a while. It's okay, you can investigate that scientist later.' his hands slipped to her waist and his lips sought hers. Julia pulled away angrily,

'Fuck you, Jin!' she yelled. He stood opposite her, his arms still extended in the broken embrace, his face a mask of shock, 'Did it ever cross your mind that I might have more important things to do? Did you ever think about the fact that I have to spend every minute I'm not with you or thinking about you or sorting out your fucking problems training so that I can stay in this tournament? If I lose all the work I've been doing for the past three years will have been for nothing.' She was shouting now, her voice echoing across the lake, stirring a flock of fitful birds from the nearby trees. Jin moved towards her, shushing and hugging her anxiously,

'Julia, what if someone hears?!'

'Oh yeah, because that would be just tragic!' she shouted, struggling free from his arms. She could feel the heat rising in her face, and she was panting hard. 'I'm sick of this, Jin! And I'm sick of you! What have you done, huh?! _What do you_ _do?_ You just show up here and expect me to have some magic cure for your problem. But I don't Jin, I don't!' he voice cracked as she shouted these last words. Jin was staring at her, blankly; it was as if a door had closed from her suddenly, and her heart strained at the thought. She felt a strangely familiar sickness rising in her gut. 'Was _any_ of it real?' these last words were almost whispered, and her hand flickered forward involuntarily as if to touch him, but before it could be withdrawn, Jin had grabbed it fiercely. Julia cried in shock and pain as she felt nails, no, claws, digging into her flesh. She looked up in distress at Jin's face, which was a knot of cold dark rage. She saw the blood fill his eyes, saw his nostrils flare with heat and fury, saw his forehead split to reveal a horrible gash-like third eye. Screaming wildly, she thrashed to be free of his grasp, but it was too strong. She punched with her free arm, and kicked as hard as she could, but it was like hitting a brick wall, and that heat! Jin's body throbbed with an intensity the like of which Julia had never felt before. And the sickness, the primal, horrible revulsion was so strong now she felt certain that something would happen to her too, something beyond vomiting or fainting.

With a wild screaming fear she knew she was about to die.


	20. PART III The Seventh Fight

Wow, it's been a long time! I don't blame you lot if you've given up on this fic after such a long absence, but I hope not, because I've finally finished it! Having said that, I am still tweaking and editing, so feel free to give me feedback / make suggestions / whatever. Thanks for your patience, hope this is worth it!

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The Seventh Fight

Somehow, though, she did not die. Julia awoke squinting up at the clear white sky, punctuated by neither cloud nor bird. It was very quiet, but she could hear and feel the cool water of the lake which lapped about her side. The sand beneath her was wet, and her clothes were soaked through. She must have been lying there unconscious for some time. She did not know how she had come to be here.

She did not know that, as her consciousness had slipped away, as the monster held her limp body about the waist in one enormous hand, gripping her arm with the other, about to literally tear her limb from limb, a glimmer of Jin had ignited briefly, and that it had been enough, as he became aware of the girl's fragile frame, clasped in his terrible talons, to make him loosen his grip momentarily, and as Julia slipped lifelessly to the sand, a terrifying battle had ensued, one within Jin's body.

He strained with all his might against what seemed an insurmountable power. He thrashed and tore and bit, whether physically or only mentally he did not know. He had tried to resist the devil before, always in vain. Now though, the image of Julia prone and defenceless in his own twisted hands spurred him to push the force further than he had ever done. He surged with an effort so great he felt that every tendon in his body would snap, that his muscles would burst and tear. Nothing, no physical fight, no mental anguish, had ever rivalled the pain and the strain he now underwent. Humans will endure terrible things for love.

Finally, with a cry of agony, Jin gathered the control to throw himself into the water, where his body thrashed and snarled against his force, and he dragged himself further into the lake, ducking his head down below the surface. As he convulsed and struggled between the two parts of himself, the devil gulped for air, but only water coughed its way into his throat. He could feel a shivering rage run through himself as the cool clear liquid sloshed into his lungs. Then suddenly there was a surge, and his black and glorious wings had spread. With an enormous, coughing, heaving splash, he was extricated from the lake and soaring upwards towards the cold white sky, pearls of water slipping from his ebony feathers. He tried fiercely to drag himself down once more, but he was disorientated, and the devil was incensed. Knowing that the destruction of its host would mean its own demise, it could do nothing but roar and battle with the air; until, that was, Jin thought of Julia. He only glanced at her for a moment, but it was enough. A malevolent thrill coursed through Jin's body, and suddenly he was gliding swiftly towards her unconscious body as it lay on the sand. He tried to resist the evil, but he was becoming unsure of which was which – himself or the devil. Julia was drawing rapidly closer; soon she was so close Jin saw her eyelids flutter slightly in her soft unknowing face. With a mighty cry, Jin concentrated every atom of himself over which he still had control into driving him back, back. And he was gone, soaring like a bird across the lake, and over the treetops.

Julia did not know this. All she knew was that her body ached and there was no sign of Jin. Dazed and more than a little shaky, she got to her feet, brushed off the sand clinging to her clothes, and made her way back to the mansion.

Approaching her room, Julia saw that Christie was sitting on the floor by her door, her head on her knees.

'Chris?' The girl looked up, brushing the long auburn hair from her face dejectedly.

'Julia.' She said rising, 'What happened?' Julia hesitated,

'Nothing, why?' Christie stood dumb for a few seconds, and Julia saw tears mounting in her dark eyes,

'You . . .' Christie stuttered angrily, wiping her eyes.

'Christie, what's the matter?'

'It's over.' She said throatily. 'I'm out.'

'Oh God.' Julia gasped with sudden remembrance, 'Your match. I –' she stopped, swallowing the words which were to follow. Christie looked at her, expecting an explanation, but Julia stood silent, looking down at her hands, unable to reply.

'You know what, Julia? I showed up to every single one of your fights. Every single one.' She spat out these three words. Julia did not look up. 'I've been waiting here for the last hour. I thought something must have happened. And then it turns out you don't even have an excuse.' She shook her head, 'You're pathetic. I just hope you lose fewer fights in this tournament than you have friends.'

'Christie, I'm sorry.' But it was too late. Julia looked up in time to see Christie disappearing around the corner of the corridor.

Julia did not know what had happened to Jin. She did not know, in fact, whether he was still alive; she thought he probably was, but she did not know. Whether or not, she felt suddenly overcome by exhaustion; not only physical, but a general weariness with everything, and especially with Jin. And it all suddenly didn't seem worth it, not any of it. He was in a difficult position, certainly, and Julia felt sure that he possessed some genuine feeling for her. Regardless, the relationship had been born of deceit, and why should she oblige someone who had used her so selfishly? If Julia was culpable of possessing one fault, it was pride, and she felt the twisting heat of humiliation in her gut at the thought that Jin, anyone, had been able to trick her so entirely. And the idea that his desire to cure himself had been mixed with lust made her skin crawl.

The days went by, and there was no sign of Jin. Julia was surprised that, though she felt a little twinge of remorse with every morning that she did not go down to the lake, her primary emotion was relief. Yes her days were empty, especially now that Xiaoyu and Christie were absent as well, but there was something soothing about the monotony of the next week as she prepared for her seventh opponent. During the day she trained, sometimes alone, sometimes with Asuka. In the evening the two girls would visit one or the other's room and talk about everything except Jin. It was surprisingly easy, she found, not to deny Jin's situation, but to make herself entirely oblivious to it. Aside from the brief, wrenching sight of the still-pink scar on her hand, there was little in her day-to-day life to remind her of him. The less she thought about it, the less it pressed on her, until by the morning of her match she was barely conscious of Jin's existence, or so she thought.

She was facing Yoshimitsu, and though he was an opponent to be feared, she felt confident in the preparation she had done for the match. Her muscles burned with anticipation and she thrilled at the strength she felt coursing through every inch of her body.

The fight began, and Julia was alert to the glint of metal, the slash of a blade, and had spun clear of Yoshimitsu's first attack. With equal speed, she kicked his side, and he landed face up on the floor. Another kick, another slash, both dodged expertly. Julia hopped from one foot to the other, pleased at not having yet received a hit. Her pleasure was cut short, however, as her opponent caught the side of her jaw with a spinning kick, which he followed up with another blow as she was falling. Carefully, Julia rolled forward at just the right moment to deal a low kick at Yoshimitsu, who was immediately floored. And another kick, and another. But he was equal to that – like some kind of malevolent insect, he rose and placed himself, perfectly balanced, atop his sword, point to the ground. Julia had studied his moves, of course, but she was no less bewildered by this technique when confronted with it in the arena. There was no time for stalling, though, as Yoshimitsu used his legs to thrust himself forward atop his katana, and Julia was knocked back. The next thing she knew his sword was above his head, flashing in the light from the windows. Julia rolled clear just in time to avoid a serious injury, but the blade nicked her arm, and she hissed as she was made aware of how razor-sharp it was. Now she was punching – once, twice, three times, and Yoshimitsu was down again. Not for long, however, as he leapt to his feet and swung his leg round, missing her cheek by mere millimetres. For the briefest of moments, in the flash of light glinting off Yoshimitsu's leg, Julia saw something etched there. There was no time, though, and, ducking, Julia dodged a second kick and managed to trip her opponent, who threw himself up again, hitting her in the process. Staggering a little, she did not recover quickly enough to avoid a second blow, this time a sharp kick to her stomach.

Loose strands of hair were slicked with sweat to Julia's forehead. She was panting hard. Yoshimitsu, of course, betrayed no strain. Logically, Julia knew he had weakened, but it was still frustrating to see him apparently fit as ever, his expressionless mask taking on a mocking sneer in her imagination. Feigning once backwards, Julia threw all her weight at Yoshimitsu, landing a significant blow into his middle with both fists. He rolled back and Julia was on him in a second, ramming him to the ground again. There was a wincing hydraulic noise as he rose, and Julia felt a triumphant smile play across her mouth.

Then, Yoshimitsu raised his sword once more, drawing it back high above his head, like a bowman drawing back his arrow. Julia knew what he was doing – she had seen this move before. Both fighters knew that Yoshimitsu had scant energy left, and one or two more blows would finish him. If he could land this hit, though, he would win. It all happened very slowly, and Julia felt her heart race as she watched that thin, dangerous blade slicing through the air. With a shout which penetrated the arena, Julia kicked out at Yoshimitsu. The blow found its mark, and Julia staggered backwards with the force of her own kick, as Yoshimitsu finally fell unconscious.

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Next instalment, _The Chase_: A startling realisation, a desperate race against time, a life-changing decision.


	21. The Chase

Thanks for the reviews. Really appreciate that you're still reading !

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The Chase

Julia had, in fact, done some research into the scientist of whom Jin had told her. Before their last encounter, she had E-mailed a hacker acquaintance, asking him for any information he could possibly find for her about the Zaibatsu's research. She had not spoken to said acquaintance since high school, however, and held out little hope for the endeavour. She was surprised, then, when, a few weeks later, she received a reply. Unbeknownst to Julia, her hacker friend had been enamoured with her for a good part of his teenage life, and was more than happy to spend a night burrowing into the vaults of the Mishima Zaibatsu's research to dig up some information for the pretty girl who had once been his partner for a chemistry project. Even the remembrance of adolescent infatuation was not enough, however, to penetrate the militant security of the Zaibatsu's database, and he was eventually forced to send her an apologetic reply attached to which was a meagre list of the staff who had worked on the project.

The list was not long – it contained only ten names. On scrolling through them, however, one caught her attention. Dr. Boskonovitch. She pondered over it for a few minutes. Why was it so familiar to her? Certain she had seen the name somewhere before, Julia racked her brains to think when, with no luck. Reluctant to fall back into the desperate struggle to help Jin, Julia closed her laptop, and left for the gym.

The day rolled past in a rhythm of cardio, meditation and shadow boxing. By the time she found herself sat in a restaurant with Asuka at dinner, she had all but forgotten about Dr. Boskonovitch. Asuka was discussing some important recent tournament fixtures. She stopped, though, seeing that Julia had become distracted.

'Julia?' Julia's eyes were fixed on her knife. She had been eating, chatting, listening to her friend, when suddenly it had caught the light, and all at once she was reminded of that moment, when she had seen, just as the light flashed from Yoshimitsu's leg, that there was a word written there. The word, she now realised, had been Boskonovitch.

Julia rose abruptly.

'Where's Yoshimitsu?' Asuka stared at her dumbly.

'Where's Yoshimitsu,' she repeated, urgently, 'Has he left yet?'

'I – I think so. I don't know. Probably.'

'Shit.' Whispered Julia, 'Asuka, I have to go. I'll square up the bill later.' Looking dazed, Julia picked up her bag and left.

She was barely aware of her legs moving beneath her as she rushed towards the mansion. Sprinting up the long driveway, past the main gate and to the entrance, she could feel her heart pounding inexplicably, for she was fit of course, and a run like this should cause her no significant strain. But she found herself terrified, determined, confused. All she knew at that point was that she must get to Yoshimitsu.

'Excuse me.' She grabbed a passing servant, 'Do you know where Yoshimitsu's room is?'

'Er, yes. But I think he left already.'

'Do you know where he's gone.' The servant looked at her helplessly.

'Do you know anyone who would?' Julia almost wailed at him in frustration.

'I – wait here.' He retreated into a back room, and returned a few agonising minutes later, to Julia, who was wringing her hands unconsciously as he reported,

'Now, I can't guarantee this is true, but one of the cleaners says she saw him leave about an hour ago. She says he was holding a ticket.'

'What kind of ticket?'

'I don't know. Could've been a train ticket, I suppose. If that's the case, though, he's probably already on his train – the station's only a fifteen minute walk. Or maybe it was a plane ticket.' The man glanced at his watch, 'If you go now, there's a chance you could catch him before he boards.' With a fleeting 'Thank you.' Julia was darting out of the mansion again, and hurling herself down the driveway to the town.

As she swung around the corner, dodging a small dog as she did so, Julia spotted a taxi. Within a few minutes they were speeding down the motorway, Julia's eyes flickering anxiously as she watched the number of miles to the airport tick down with each road sign that flitted past. The drive seemed to go one forever. Restless, Julia hopped from seat to seat, chewing at her nails and nervously brushing imaginary dust from her jeans. Finally they arrived.

'Keep it.' Julia shot over her shoulder as she sprang out of the cab, leaving a stunned driver holding a handful of change out to the open car door.

Racing into the airport, Julia's eyes frantically scanned the signs inside. Which gate would Yoshimitsu be at? Surely he wouldn't be hard to spot. She looked across the sea of heads, but there was no sign of him. For all Julia knew, he might be on a plane right now, or he might never have come to the airport at all. Despair seemed to well up suddenly inside her, but she fought it back fiercely.

_I must find him._ Was all she thought, _I must find him._ And she scanned her mind frantically, logically. Yoshimitsu was Japanese, so he would probably be on a domestic flight. Fourth floor.

Julia threw herself up the escalator, arriving in front of the departures' board. Only one flight left within the next hour, and it was boarding. In a last, desperate bid to reach Yoshimitsu, Julia sprinted towards the gate, her shoes skidding on the polished floor as she swerved between luggage and people. And there he was.

Julia almost cried out with relief when she spotted a glint of metal between the rim of a wide hat and a navy blue collar. He was wearing a long yukata, probably to avoid attracting unwanted attention, but his stature was enough for Julia to pick him out from where she was. Blindly, she ran towards him, because he was already there, at the desk, and past it.

'Yoshimitsu!' Julia yelled as loudly as she could. Every head turned, but Julia only saw one, and that was Yoshimitsu's. He stopped, and recognising her, stepped away from the procession of passengers.

She steadied herself against the counter behind which stood a baffled-looking flight attendant.

'Yoshimitsu.' She panted hard, and swallowed. 'Yoshimitsu. Do you know someone called Dr. Boskonovitch.'

The skull-like face remained unmoved. 'Please.' Her voice wavered as she tried to regain her breath enough to continue, 'Tell me how to find him.'

'I do not know the name.' He said.

'Yes you do. It's on your thigh. I saw.' Yoshimitsu's motionless face seemed to Julia to take on a sinister glint as he leaned towards her. Suddenly he grabbed her upper arm with cold mechanical fingers, and gripped it hard. The aggressive gesture was hidden in the voluminous folds of Yoshimitsu's sleeve. Julia's first impulse was to defend herself, but she stood still as Yoshimitsu said between set, gleaming metal teeth.

'I do not know any Boskonovitch. And neither do you.'

'Excuse me.' The voice of the attendant chimed in. She glanced uncertainly at Yoshimitsu, and it was obvious that she was trying to conceal her fear, 'The plane is about to leave. We ask that you board now.' Yoshimitsu released Julia's arm, which throbbed with pain, and turned silently away.

'Yoshimitsu, wait.' Julia dodged past the counter. She was surprised when the attendant tried to pull her back, but shook her off and grabbed Yoshimitsu's yukata fiercely.

'You don't understand. I need to speak with him. If I don't people will die.' But Yoshimitsu threw her back. She tumbled into the wide-eyed flight attendant. Julia saw the security guard take a step towards Yoshimitsu.

'No please, don't touch him. It was my fault. I just need to talk to him quickly.'

'There's no time.' Said the attendant, her voice peaking, 'The plane is leaving. Sir.' She placed a hand on Yoshimitsu's elbow to guide him forward.

'Yoshimitsu, please. I don't mean him any harm. But if I don't talk to him many people will be in danger. I'm not exaggerating. A force is coming, bigger than me, bigger than you. It's growing right now, and unless I can contact Boskonovitch, it will destroy us both, and god knows how many more.' Perhaps Yoshimitsu knew something of the devil gene, perhaps it was the desperate sincerity in Julia's voice, but he stopped and, ignoring the flight attendant, who it appeared did not understand English well, angrily urging him forward, he leaned to Julia's ear and quietly but carefully told her an address, followed by the words,

'He is an old, tired man, who does not want any trouble, and deserves his peace. If you, or anyone else disturbs him beyond one conversation, I will punish them.'

The security guard grabbed Julia's arm, and tugged her away, but she had it. She had the address.

Too dazed to even say thank you, Julia staggered away from the gate and collapsed into the nearest chair. There she sat for a few minutes, panting, as people milled and whirled around her. When she had caught her breath enough to think, Julia felt as lovers do after an argument, when a doubtful glance is exchanged, and then they come together all at once, clumsily kissing and crying and regretting every word they said. But she was alone, in an airport, unheeded by the passing strangers. In her eyes, though, every little lie she had told to herself about not caring for Jin, the armour she had so carefully patched together had been torn away, leaving her naked and ashamed in her love, so passionate, so desperate, so painful.

And she knew then that there was no going back. For her own protection, she must undertake her task alone, but she would undertake it. It seemed suddenly and starkly inevitable that she would do it, despite everything, despite Jin's lies, because for the past hour or so, from that flash of light, to the moment the security guard grabbed her arm, all that had existed for Julia was Jin, a figure alone in a bleak white world. Love had bleached Julia's mind, and she had no choice but to see only Jin, and to love only Jin and to fight tooth and nail to save him. That was all.

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Next instalment, _The Eighth Fight_: A surprise fixture leaves Julia's tournament hopes in the balance.


	22. The Eighth Fight

Apologies for late update. Have been away. Anyway, hope you like.

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The Eighth Fight

A hush lay across the arena. Julia could hardly believe she was there. It was strange, unreal. Of course it was her dream to win the tournament; it had consumed her energies for years. But the last few weeks had been so fraught with other concerns, that now she found herself, angry, fit, toned, but so small in the vastness of the arena, the same one at which she had almost been knocked out in her first match more than two months previous, she was taken aback by the sudden tangible fact of it all. Julia was not the only one who felt the strangeness, though. Throughout the crowd, in little ripples and murmurs, there was the awareness that all was not right. Most striking of all, Julia had not been told who her opponent would be.

The mechanisations of the tournament were notoriously shrouded in secrecy, but there had been a few discrepancies under the new management which even the most eager of tournament followers had been unable to account for. Matches which lasted five rounds, fighters withdrawing without warning, last-minute fixture changes. With the passing weeks, Julia had been becoming more and more convinced that the peculiarities of her own first bout had been down to more than just incompetence.

Most worrying of all, those few who spoke up about the inconsistencies had begun at some point, it was hard to say when, to be silenced. Their names stopped appearing in print, their absence began to be noted at the tournaments, until finally the front row of the stadium, usually reserved for the press, was occupied almost entirely by anonymous tournament officials.

Normally, of course, Julia's fixture would be announced publically, at least a week prior to the fight, to give both her and her opponent time to prepare, but no such announcement had been made. No more than a day after her race to the airport, she had woken to find a note slipped under her door. On it was printed simply, _MISS J CHANG, YOUR NEXT MATCH WILL TAKE PLACE IN THE CENTRAL ARENA ON WEDNESDAY THE 24__TH__ (TOMORROW) AT 9:30AM. PLEASE ARRIVE PROMPTLY FOR THE CALL TO FIGHT_. She had flipped it over, and even tried to decipher the Japanese translation above the English, but nowhere was there any mention of whom she would be fighting. She half suspected some kind of prank, or, for one heart-stopping moment that perhaps it was Jin trying to arrange a meeting with her surreptitiously, but no, of course he would never arrange to meet somewhere as open as the central arena. Perhaps it was a hoax, but with all the strange goings-on in this tournament, nothing could be ruled out, and Julia had no choice but to spend one furious day in the gym and hope for the best.

The recent anomalies had meant it was impossible to know for certain, even by examining the progression of the tournament thus far, who Julia's opponent would be, but she had a pretty solid idea, and it filled her with dread. They had been skirting around it for weeks, but the chance that Julia and Asuka would have to fight one another had been growing with every successive round they ploughed through. With the passing weeks, Julia had grown to feel a special affection for Asuka. There was something in her warm, placid eyes, the careful way she listened to Julia's words and picked out her own. It was the late-night visits and the kind embraces. She was in every sense, a true friend. Reliable, faithful, never falsely flattering, never overly clingy. In Asuka's company Julia felt very happy, very safe and assured. In fact, though Julia struggled with the idea, Asuka was not unlike Jin. Throughout all that had happened, throughout all of the secret trials which had pushed Julia's other friends away, Asuka had been there, calm and understanding. It was not that she was unemotional – like Jin, she was prone to fits of passionate emotion, and had depths that Julia felt she did not yet fully comprehend – it was not that she did not care about Julia or that she was too weak to fight her. It seemed to Julia that Asuka understood completely. She did not question or argue against Julia's passionate, awful love. She offered sensible advice, and reminded Julia of her responsibilities when she became too wrapped up in one thing or another, but whether her advice was heeded or not, whether her phone calls were returned or not, she was always there again, with that calm, sad, understanding look in her eyes and across her mouth. Between them there was an unstated sympathy, for which Julia could not completely account. Asuka did talk about her own affairs, openly and without embarrassment. As their friendship had grown closer, she had shared her feelings and intimate secrets with Julia, but she had never said anything of love. Despite this, whenever Julia described her deep, unswerving love for Jin, Asuka's lip would curve in a sad smile, which said that she offered her complete sympathetic understanding.

The subject of their possible fight then, had become something of a taboo between the friends. It was better not spoken of, for there was no desirable outcome in any case. Even not facing one another was no good, because it meant one or the other being knocked out. There was no denying that the two were both strong fighters, but as the days had passed, though there was no loss of intimacy in the relationship, there had been an unspoken, complicit cessation of shared training sessions or discussions of tactics. They were indeed both strong, but they were also both smart, and it was clear that the less they gave away to one another, the better. So it had gone on, both training hard, separately, both discussing everything but their fighting, both becoming increasingly anxious at the possibility of a fight with the other.

So when Julia had received the note, her first instinct had been to call Asuka and find out if she had received that same one. But she thought better of it, and decided that the best thing for both of them was to just face the fight with the honest mutual desire to win, and concede to the outcome with dignity. Whether the friendship would stand up to the challenge was a question better left unasked. Julia hoped that Asuka not contacting her that day indicated that she felt the same.

Apparently news travelled fast in the tournament, because despite the late announcement -- Julia was not sure if there had even _been_ a public announcement -- the stadium was full to capacity. And all through the crowd, flickering like little sparks of electricity, was the idea that something important was about to happen.

Someone in the audience called out, and Julia turned to see that a figure had appeared at the other end of the ring, as if from nowhere. For a heart-stopping second Julia thought it was Jin at the other side of the arena, but in the next instant she saw that, even more shockingly, it was Kazuya.

Confused and alarmed, she looked towards the judges, whom she caught in a moment of complete open-mouthed stupefaction. Whoever was responsible for this fixture, it was not them. The single shout was immediately followed by a clamour of noise as the crowd was whipped up into a flurry of surprised talking and shouting. Kazuya strode towards Julia, and for a few seconds she was locked to the spot, too absolutely stunned to do anything. He fixed her with one dark determined eye which was unsettlingly like Jin's. Even the way he moved reminded her of his son, and she found this, on top of the complete unexpectedness of the situation, thoroughly disconcerting. She turned once more to the judges, whose heads were now buried in a scrum of frantic talk. One made as if to stand, and Julia could see he was going to attempt to shout out above the crowd. Kazuya saw it too, and, without waiting for the call to fight, struck out at Julia. He hit her full in the face, with a punch that set the audience into a roar. When Julia looked, alarmed, towards the judges, she saw that the man who had risen was facing the crowd, waving his arms and bellowing to be heard. But it was no use, Kazuya's unexpected attack had heightened the fervour of the spectators to such a degree that at that point even a megaphone would be completely inaudible over the cacophony.

No sooner had Julia's eyes left the ineffectual judge than Kazuya was standing over her, grabbing the scruff of her shirt to try and lift her from the ground. Fending him off, Julia felt a surge of adrenaline-laced fury mount in her gut at Kazuya's dirty first blow. She pushed him away sharply with her foot and as his grip loosened she landed a right-hook into his cheek. With lightening speed, Kazuya retaliated by spinning a low kick, which slowed effortlessly into another kick to Julia's side as she fell to earth. Now he hammered her with a downward punch. The force of these blows was immense, and Julia had to force herself to ignore the rising awareness that Kazuya was a far superior fighter to her. Hoping to catch him off-guard, Julia rolled towards him, but he was too fast, and repulsed the attack with another mighty kick. Staggering backwards, Julia saw Kazuya rush at her. She dodged the attack, and grappled to fix him into a hold, but he loosened her grip with muscular hands and punched her hard several times in a combo which floored her once again.

In the split-second that Julia regained her senses after the blow, she saw the crowd swim around her. Every face was alive with fierce emotion – excitement, anger, confusion, ecstasy, fear. Then she saw Kazuya above her. Julia had never been so close to him, and in the brief moment that he stood over her, she could see, in microscopic detail, the thick scars that laced his body, the veins which throbbed across his hands and arms, the cloudy circle of his sightless eye, and the devilish, manic grin on his thin lips. These details sprang out at her as time slowed. She fixed them into her mind, knowing that they would be the last things she saw before the fateful blow which would knock her unconscious and bring her tournament to an end.

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Next instalment, _The Escape_: Julia meets an old friend, and is forced to confront the dark realities of the Zaibatsu


	23. The Escape

Just a note to say thank you, of course, to those who've been following this story from way back, but also to new readers – very impressed, and flattered, that you have the patience to read through all the old chapters!

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The Escape

Suddenly Kazuya was gone. Julia scrambled frantically to her feet, to see him grappling with several crow soldiers, and more piling on to him every second, pulling him back.

'Julia Chang wins!' shouted the announcer.

'What?!' she cried out without thinking. Her own voice was joined by those of the crowd, who shouted in surprise and anger.

'No' she yelled, 'No, I didn't win.' And she threw herself towards Kazuya, but she had taken only three steps forward when she was jolted backwards, and there were crows holding her as well. Kazuya was struggling too, thrashing against the faceless black men. For a moment it looked like he might break free, but in the same moment there was a rapid series of clicks and every crow's gun was trained on Kazuya, who fell still, all but his eyes, which whipped manically from side to side with primal fury. The crowd erupted in boos and exclamations of outraged shock, but the noise changed to screams almost instantly as, like beetles emerging from a crack in the wall, crows burst from every entrance and swarmed the outside of the ring, their guns aimed into the crowd. People began to scramble over one another towards the exits, but these too were barred by shining black figures. Though there were guns locked on her, Julia continued to struggle with whatever strength she had left against the arms that held her and screamed out above the din of the crowds,

'Kazuya! Kazuya! I need to talk to you! Please! Kazuya!' but she would not know whether he heard her, because in a blur of black shining armour, he was gone, and she too found herself being bundled backwards, past the screaming spectators and away from the ring.

She was half dragged, half carried through a series of corridors and slammed against a wall. A face loomed close to hers from behind the knot of black bodies. She recognised it as one of the officials from the front row of the arena. He was so close that she could not focus properly on anything, but a flash of silver told her that he was holding a knife.

'You. Win.' he said in a low, fierce voice, and held the tip of the blade to her cheek. She felt the cold steel press into her skin momentarily, before he turned and left, dropping the knife back into his suit pocket. Julia had no time to recover her senses as she was trussed away once more, and found herself stumbling dazed into the open air. The crows had disappeared, and she was standing alone in front of an arena fire exit. Her head swam, and she had to put a hand out to steady herself against the wall. With the last of her strength, she limped to the medical wing, where she was shown into Dr. Kasai's surgery.

When he saw the state she was in, the doctor rose in alarm, and carefully led her to a chair. Julia collapsed gratefully into it. He immediately started grabbing at instruments and bottles and bidding Julia hold still while he examined and tended to her. Once she had collected herself, she realised that Dr Kasai's surgery looked quite different from how it had the last time she had seen it. Papers were strewn messily across the desk, and a pile had obviously tipped on to the floor, where they had been left. Instruments crowded the available surfaces, and the little row of plants on his windowsill sat untended and wilting. Dr. Kasai himself looked unkempt, his thin hair messy and his previously immaculate white coat stained with coffee. His face was pale and tired. He seemed to have aged.

'Look at you.' he said 'What in God's name's happened?'

'It was a fight. Kazuya's back.' The doctor paused, his face stricken,

'What? Kazuya, alive?' His hand lingered across his mouth, his brow knitted with anxiety. He rose with a start, and moved to a cupboard, from which he dragged an empty satchel. Julia watched bemused as he darted from point to point in the little room, grabbing papers and bottles, sweeping whole shelves full of instruments into the satchel. Then he seemed to suddenly become aware of her again, and threw himself angrily back into his chair,

'Well, I can't very well leave you like this.' he said, and resumed his examination, prodding and dabbing at her with agitated gestures.

'Dr. Kasai, what's going on?'

'I'm off.' he said, 'I've had enough.' he wheeled backwards and snatched a roll of gauze from a drawer, not bothering to close it again as he rolled back to where Julia sat. His fingers shook as he tried to cut the bandage, continuing, 'Things have been getting worse and worse around here. The Zaibatsu, they call me at all hours, make me patch people up. They won't tell me who the people are, how they got injured. Sometimes they're so cut up you can't tell if they're men or women. Threaten me, knock me about. I'm not allowed to tell anyone. And now you say Kazuya's back. Well,' he shook his head, 'I didn't become a doctor so I could be bullied and intimidated by a bunch of mafia thugs.' and with a worn expression, he continued to tend to Julia.

'And these?' he indicated the red marks across her arms and legs, which must have come from the crows holding her.

'There were soldiers.' she said, her voice hoarse, 'They came into the arena, everywhere. I don't . . .' her voice trailed off, and she closed her eyes. Dr. Kasai grunted, but did not press her, seeing how tired she was. He continued with his examination, until he began without warning to snip away at the bandage that covered her right hand. She withdrew it sharply,

'What are you doing?'

'Come come.' said the doctor peevishly, grabbing her hand back and removing the rest of the bandage. Julia was too weak to stop him, and did not clamp her fist shut quickly enough to prevent Dr. Kasai catching a glimpse of the thick, distinct scar, in the shape of Jin's tattoo, which marked her palm. The man looked up at her below heavy brows,

'These are dangerous times, Girl. Whoever you're protecting, they're not worth this. Be smart. Run away.' Julia looked at him in disbelief,

'Run? But, I can't. People are depending on me.' The doctor snorted,

'Fine. Throw your life away. It's not my business.' and he pressed a bottle into her hands brusquely. 'You can treat the rest yourself.' He snatched up the satchel once more and resumed his haphazard packing, only to pause, and without turning to look at her, said,

'I'm not like you. I'm not a fighter, never have been. Some of us, when times get hard, we just cut and run.' and he came to her, taking her hand in his with an unexpectedly tender gesture, his rough fingers pressing the smooth ridge of her scar,

'There's no shame in running away, Julia. Don't be a fool. Leave while you still can.' he dropped her hand and went to the surgery door, peeping under the little black blind which covered its window.

'Good, she's gone. I can't even let my receptionist see me leave. Julia, do not tell anyone that we spoke. Do you hear me?' Julia nodded, her throat clotted with emotion. Without a backward glance. Dr Kasai fled the surgery, whipping papers from the desk with the flapping of his coat tails. Julia sat silent and dazed as the little flurry settled around her.

Dr. Kasai's words stayed in Julia's mind for a long time. Everything had happened so quickly, she had not even had time to realise that the possibility of running away existed. Jin had lied to her, hadn't he? But, she told herself, this was not about Jin any more. It was bigger than him and their trivial little love affair. People were in danger. She thought of what Jin had told her about the forest, and her stomach strained. But, what if that had been a lie too? Doubt polluted Julia's mind. Perhaps ... perhaps she should run. With a weary conscience, she wondered how she had been dragged into such a dark affair in the first place. All this time she had been convinced that what she had been doing was for the best, but after what Dr. Kasai had said ... he had the insight to realise that he was helping no one by staying. Yes, he cured people in the short term, but by doing so he was simply helping the corrupt Zaibatsu. Was Julia any different? She thought hard; what would have happened had she not got involved? Jin would be ... dead, probably. Her heart strained wildly at the thought, but when she allowed herself to consider it logically, she realised that had it not been for her, Jin would probably have taken his own life long ago, and the dark threat would have been extinguished, forever. No chance even of passing it on, of perpetuating that evil. Julia's sense of morality struggled against the idea, but, she had been humbled by Dr. Kasai's pragmatic attitude, which seemed so much more sensible and real than her high-flown ideas of love and justice. Julia felt, after her reflection, small and pathetic. She was embarrassed that she had ever thought herself capable of doing what she had set out to do; as if she could rise Christ-like above all the sordidness of the Zaibatsu and the Mishimas. Confused and cowed, Julia resolved to take Dr. Kasai's advice and leave as soon as she could. She must not, above all, allow herself to think of Jin. She knew that the moment she thought of him, all of her resolutions, against which every natural instinct in her cried out in opposition, would be undone. No, she would go tonight. No one would suspect her reasons. As far as anyone was concerned, she was leaving because of the last match, because she didn't want to advance to the next round in such dubious circumstances. The less she said to anyone, the better. But there was one person to whom she felt she owed a goodbye before she fled.

-----------------------------------

Next instalment, _The Scientist_: A stunning revelation draws Julia deeper into the sinister secrets of the Devil Gene.


	24. The Scientist

Sorry for the delayed update – just gone back to uni and have been a bit busy. Better late than never, though, right?

---------------------------------

The Scientist

Julia hesitated for a few seconds, took a deep breath, and knocked on Asuka's door.

'Julia, what's up?' Obviously she had not heard about the match earlier that day.

'Can I come in?'

'Sure.' The Japanese girl led her inside and plopped herself down on the bed opposite her. Julia had prepared what she would say and rehearsed it over in her head a dozen times, but now that she was here, looking at Asuka's mild, curious face, the words would not come out. The two sat in silence for a few seconds as Julia prompted herself again and again to say what she had come to say; but every time the words were about to spill out, she shrank back. She felt a little gush of relief as Asuka piped up,

'So, I've got a match against Hwoarang tomorrow.'

'What? When did you find out?'

'Only today. This tournament just gets stranger and stranger.'

'Yeah … So, how are you feeling about the fight?'

'Hm, okay, I suppose. He's tough though.' Julia nodded absently, distracted, still trying to work up the nerve to tell Asuka that she was leaving. 'I dunno,' she continued, 'I just hope he's not going to be especially hard on me because of my relation to Jin!' and she laughed. Julia's attention was snagged by the comment,

'Because of Jin?'

'Well, you know what those two think of one another.' Julia stared back at her blankly.

'Oh, I assumed he told you.' said Asuka, 'Jin and Hwoarang have hated each other since . . . I don't even know. Well, it's more a one-sided hatred to be honest. Hwoarang's absolutely determined to beat Jin. It's kind of, funny, actually. It's like he's got a crush on him or something!' and she laughed, not noticing the stunned expression on Julia's face.

'Do you think,' Julia looked up again, trying not to betray her feelings, 'Would Hwoarang know about Jin's family situation.'

'That's what I'm wondering. I just pray he doesn't realise I'm Jin's cousin. It wouldn't surprise me, though. He's so obsessed with the idea of beating Jin, I bet he's researched him pretty thoroughly. But I doubt he'll go easy on me either way. From what Jin's told me he's absolutely ruthless, in the arena and out of it. He'll stop at nothing to make Jin's life an absolute misery.' She smiled at Julia, whose brow was lined in troubled thought.

'Is everything okay?' she asked. Julia looked up and her face cleared,

'Yeah, fine. So, what time is your fight?'

Julia stayed for about half an hour and discussed Asuka's match with her out of politeness, and for fear of raising her suspicions. Up until then she had confided almost everything in Asuka, but this latest revelation shook her so profoundly that she thought it best to say nothing, even about her fight with Kazuya, until she had had time to rethink things. As her mind became more lucid, though, one certainty emerged unshakeably from the confusion, and that was that she loved Jin. She was almost ashamed to admit, even to herself -- the depth of her absolute love for him. It had been there all along, before, but the belief that her love was not returned had been enough, to the proud girl, to keep her from succumbing to her feelings. But now that she could see through Hwoarang's lies, she had no barrier against the flood of her absolute, blind and passionate love. There was no choice. That afternoon, rather than catching a plane home, Julia found herself scudding across the countryside on a train bound for an address which she held in her mind, with a firm but trembling grasp.

The apartment was not easy to find, but Julia eventually traced it, after a three-hour train ride and a walk of a few blocks, to an unremarkable corner of a Japanese suburb. She took the lift up to the fifth floor, and finally stopped in front of a door with the number 67 on it. Taking a deep breath, she pressed the bell, which buzzed from inside. When there was no answer, she pressed again, and something between fear and relief nibbled at her insides as she began to wonder whether anyone would come. But finally Julia heard the click of several locks from within, and a little face peered out from the crack beneath the door chain. It was an old and wrinkled face. A small man, bent over, wearing glasses so thick that his black eyes seemed to swim across the lenses as he blinked and peered out at her.

'Dr. Boskonovitch?'

The little man blinked again, and puckered his thin lips as if to say something, but did not answer.

'Dr Boskonovitch, my name's Julia Chang. I'm a Tekken fighter. I need to talk to you about something very important.' The old man's mouth seemed to quiver, and he answered in a thick Russian accent,

'Tekken? I don't know anything about that. Now leave me alone.' and he moved to close the door, but Julia had had the foresight to wedge her toe into the little crack.

'Please, Dr. Boskonovitch. You don't understand. I _need_ to speak to you. It's urgent. I won't hurt you, I promise. I need your help, that's all.' The little man looked around him, as if searching for someone to assist him, and Julia wondered whether he might not be alone in the little apartment, but there was nobody there, and she felt a little surge of pity as the feeble old man looked up at her through those big thick glasses, his mouth shivering open, and said helplessly,

'I suppose you'd better come in then.'

He looked down at Julia's foot, and after a moment's hesitation, she removed it, allowing him to close the door. For a second she worried that it would not reopen, but soon there came the scrape of the chain lock, and the door was pulled open. The little old man stepped aside, and with a hand that shook on the end of his arm like a dead leaf clinging lamely to a tree branch, motioned the girl inside. After peeping into the corridor, and casting his eyes left and right with nervous, bird-like gestures, Dr. Boskonovitch closed the door, and ushered Julia into a sitting room.

'Please.' he said, and the two seated themselves opposite one another in green armchairs, which smelt of age and whose rests were worn and fraying. Julia cast her eyes around the room. It was not large, and she judged from this that the whole flat could not have been much bigger than her room at the mansion doubled. Dust lined the surfaces, and everywhere there was that dull muffled scent of inertia. A foldable plywood table sat against one wall, its top scattered with books and random knots of mechanical equipment. Opposite was an old TV stand, but instead of a television, various clutter was balanced in precarious stillness on top of it. There was a broken ruler, some yellowing newspapers, a funny cat ornament. Next to this was an empty fish tank, upturned, with a thin line of green mildew all around the inside, indicating that it once had water in it. Her gaze returned to the little old man, who looked even smaller framed in the big green armchair. He tilted his chin up to look at her through his glasses, and blinked twice, silently. Julia thought he was wondering whether to offer her something to drink, and they were both aware, in that dingy little sitting room, of the oddness of the situation. She decided to come straight to the point.

'Dr, Boskonovitch, you are aware that Kazuya Mishima carries something called the Devil Gene. You helped to halt its development in him, but it has now come out in his son, Jin Kazama. It's growing rapidly, and it might be a matter of only a few weeks, maybe less, before it overtakes him completely.' There was a pause. The old man looked down at his laced fingers, thin and gnarled, shook his head, and said faintly,

'This is bad news. Very bad news indeed.' and then looking up at her, his black eyes filling his glasses, making him resemble some sort of fragile insect, he said, 'But why do you tell me this? Why do you come and lay this terrible thing at my door?' There was something tired, and a little accusatory in his thin voice, and Julia felt a great deal of sympathy for this pathetic figure as she replied,

'Believe me, I would never have troubled you with this if it weren't absolutely necessary. I know that you helped to halt the development of the devil gene in Kazuya, and I want to do the same for Jin.'

The old man plucked at the wisps of white hair above his large, drooping ears before saying,

'I'm afraid I could not help you even if I wanted to. I was thrown off the project. I don't have any of the records.'

'But you must remember.' urged Julia, 'You must have some information that might help me.' The old man sighed a long-suffering, shaky sigh and nodded grimly into his lap.

'You understand genetics?' he asked, looking up at her.

'A little.'

'The devil gene, it is an inherited thing, of course. It passes from one generation to the next, from father to son.' He spoke slowly and deliberately, glancing over his glasses to look at Julia when he laid particular emphasis on a word. As he talked, his hands were constantly moving, flickering with vague shaky gestures to illustrate what he was describing.

'We discovered that the Devil Gene is _recessive_. In order for the Devil Syndrome as we called it, to appear. To,' he circled his frail hands vaguely, 'to appear in this sense that I think you are talking about, there must be _two_ genes.' and he held up his two index fingers. 'Now,' he moistened his lips. His eyes shone through his large glasses, and it seemed to Julia that he appeared younger now, talking about his own field, 'It is possible to carry only one Devil Gene. In that case, there is no Syndrome, no visible symptoms. Heihachi is such a case. He possesses only one Devil Gene. He is a _carrier._' The old man's method of extrapolation was long-winded, but Julia leaned in and listened carefully to every word without hurrying him.

'When two carriers have a child, there is a fifty-fifty chance that each of the parents will pass on the Devil Gene, so overall there is a one-in-four chance that their child will have the Devil Syndrome. Do you understand?' Julia nodded.

'We have examined Heihachi's DNA. He is a carrier. This we know. Kazuya's mother . . .' he circled his hands loosely, 'she was not,' he gave a little coughing, grunting noise, 'involved in our research. We were not, if I'm honest, told about her, even me.' his hands flickered to his chest, 'I did not know who she was. But we could infer that she was a carrier. I think if she had been a sufferer . . . Well, we don't know, but I imagine she did not have the Devil _Syndrome_,' he glanced over his glasses, 'in itself.' He cleared his throat again,

'Anyway, we supposed that Jin would not inherit the condition, because although Kazuya has two Devil Genes, each parent only passes on one, ahem, relevant gene. Now that you tell me Jin has started exhibiting symptoms . . .' he glanced into the distance, and seemed to shrink and become suddenly old once again, 'It seems we were wrong. Jun, his, ahem, Jin's mother,' he nodded slowly as he said this, as if he himself were still processing the information, 'must have been a carrier too. The chances are very slim, but . . . it is the only explanation.'

Julia was nodding with an earnest, pensive expression.

'This worries me deeply.' continued the scientist, fumbling on a shelf beside him, and drawing out a cloth, with which he proceeded to wipe his large glasses, 'You see, one thing we discovered,' he glanced up, and Julia thought how tiny his eyes looked without the thick lenses, like little mouse eyes, 'was that the _gene_ becomes stronger with each successive generation. It becomes stronger and the symptoms emerge earlier.'

'Then how do I stop it?' The old man fell silent. Finally he spoke up, slowly,

'There is a cure.' He held his hands still, and his eyes flashed across the wide lenses towards her, 'The Zaibatsu are _cultivating_ it.' Julia's brow twitched,

'Cultivating it?'

'Yes. But it is not the _cure_ that worries me. It is the disease itself.'

'What do you mean?' Pressed Julia.

'I told you that the Devil Syndrome is genetic, well, we managed to isolate it, the gene, and,' he swallowed, and licked his puckered lips, leaving a little trail of glistening saliva around his mouth, 'I am not proud of my part in this, but, we _transformed_ it. We found a way of,' he seemed to search the room with his eyes, 'how can I put this simply? We found a way of _attaching_ it to existing DNA. Once attached, the gene overtakes its host, multiplying and gradually replacing the uncorrupted DNA. Once it has a foothold, the gene multiplies out of control, until, finally, the syndrome takes over altogether. In this way it mimics the action of the gene in its original form, which lies dormant in the sufferer until they reach a certain age, at which point it begins to multiply.' Julia sat back, dazed.

'But why would they have you create something like that.' The old man shrank back too, and his face seemed to crumple as he answered quietly,

'It is a weapon. They are cultivating it right now. To what end,' he shrugged his thin shoulders, 'I don't know.

Now,' his tone was suddenly sharp, 'I have told you all that I know, and I think you should leave.' Julia nodded, and got up. Before she departed, she told him,

'Thank you so much for your help, Dr. Boskonovitch. You've no idea how important this has been. I promise not to bother you again.' The old man mumbled something indistinct, and showed her to the door, he reached across her to open the latch, and paused, his hand quavering on the handle,

'You said you were a fighter?'

'Yes.' He turned his eyes to her, and they swam across the large, glinting spectacles,

'Why do you pursue something so dark?' Julia was taken aback by the question,

'I am trying to save someone.' and she rethought her statement, 'I'm trying to save a great number of people.'

'But why you? Why should you become a martyr to this terrible thing? You are young. This Devil Gene, it works in ways that, as a scientist, I cannot explain. It seems to exert a malignant power over all who come into contact with it. It can consume you.' He sighed deeply, 'I was young once, too.' and let Julia out.

---------------------------------

Next instalment, _The Phone Call_: Julia turns to her mother for guidance as the dark forces around her accelerate towards a dramatic collision.


	25. The Phone Call

The Phone Call

On the long journey back to the mansion, Julia had time to fully consider what Dr. Boskonovitch had told her. As she thought over all the startling facts, the magnitude of the situation began to dawn on her. An awareness had been growing in her of the fact that she was dealing with something that went beyond herself and her immediate concerns, but she had never imagined just how vast and terrifying the possible implications were. Once again, the horrid, taunting doubt that she was far too insignificant to deal with such a threat crept into her mind. It seemed to her that there was a dichotomy between her logical, noble desire to stop the Devil, and her primal, passionate need to keep Jin alive. Was she trying to satisfy her own selfish wishes at the expense of a safer alternative? She could not understand, even when she tried to confront her own feelings honestly, what it was that she was really fighting for. And that way, she knew from experience, danger lies. If one does not know one's own motives, one is not far from loosing all moral or logical structure entirely. She decided that it was to the woman who had first taught her this that she must now turn in this dark hour.

Julia gripped Asuka to her tightly, ignoring the slick sweat which coated her hot body. Hwoarang was being stretchered off from the other side of the arena. The fight had been a spectacle. Drawing back, Asuka's eyes were burning with happiness and victory. Julia felt a little twinge of sadness at Asuka's ignorance. So had she been, once – perfectly happy with the tournament almost as an end in itself, lost in the rapture of the fight.

'Well done!' she shouted in Asuka's ears, competing with the roaring crowd. Once back in her room she immediately reached for her mobile, and paced the room, waiting for the call to connect. Her heart pounded as she listened to the ring echo off into the distance. Finally a click,

'Hello?'

'Mother, it's me.'

'Julia! I'm so glad to hear form you. I was starting to worry.' Julia had been avoiding talking to her mother lately. Not for lack of a wish to, but because as things grew more and more serious, she feared that Michelle, so intuitive, would pick up on the engulfing darkness. Now, however, Julia felt she owed it to her mother to tell her at least a little of what was going on. Who knew what might happen in the coming weeks, or even days – it was better that she was given some hint as to the real situation.

'Is everything okay?' enquired Michelle, and something in her tone told Julia that her mother had already gleaned that all was not well. Perhaps she'd known from the very start.

'Mother, I need your advice.' The other end was silent, expectant.

'It's … I have a fight coming up, and …' Julia sucked in a breath and continued, 'I don't know what to do. Things here are … they're messed up, pretty badly. There's a new management and,' Julia found her heart quickening unexpectedly. She tilted her head back, telling herself that she was being silly. 'I don't know, a lot of things have changed, and I don't know whether I want to do this any more.' Michelle did not pick out the ambiguities in what Julia had told her, rightly supposing that she was still, for whatever reasons, unwilling to reveal everything as it was. Instead she said,

'This fight, is it something you feel you should do?' Julia breathed again, trying to calm her fluttering nerves and replied hesitantly,

'… Yes, yes I do. What worries me is that … I don't know why I'm doing it. I mean, it could be dangerous …' and a little part of Julia hoped that Michelle would revert back into concerned-mother mode and demand her home immediately; and, feeling weak and childish, she hurried to add, 'But, it's not that, really, I just don't know whether I'm doing the right thing if I stay and fight. I worry I might just be making things worse.'

'We fighters aren't very good at surrendering. Sometimes it is necessary.' She paused and continued, 'What have I always taught you that we fight for?'

'Peace.'

'And what are you fighting for?' Julia was quiet. Michelle went on,

'There are times when it is hard to know. Fighting for our own sakes, it may be wrong, but, none of us are angels, and there will always be more than one motive for fighting; without those other motives, we could not be as strong as we are. As long as our main reason is a pure one, harness the peripheral, selfish ones to strengthen your desire to win, but you must be careful not to let them cloud your judgement. What makes you want to run, really? Is it because you think it's best, or because you are afraid of the strength of your own feelings?' These words struck a chord with Julia, who was silent for a while before saying slowly,

'You're right. I want to fight, and it is the right thing to do. I can see that now.' Michelle seemed rueful as she replied,

'Then that is what you must do. Just remember that, whatever ties you hold there,' there was a little gulp, and Julia could tell that her mother was trying not to cry, 'You have ties here too. You see?' Michelle laughed a tearful, burbling laugh, 'We all have selfish motives.' Julia laughed too, though she felt anything but jovial as the weight of her decision descended upon her,

'I love you.' she said,

'I love you too. May the gods guide and protect you.' and the line went dead.

Julia's spirituality was not as strong as her mother's, but she did pray for a little divine intervention as she scribbled a line to Jin and passed it later, with a beseeching glance, to the porter. The note read only, '_I'm still here. J'_ She had refrained from arranging a meeting, bearing in mind what her mother had said – 'Do not let selfish reasons cloud your judgement.' Whatever lay ahead for Julia, she felt she would be able to handle in with a much clearer head if Jin were not right in front of her, real and tangible in all his distress, his pain, and his love. Just thinking of him, though, made Julia ache. She wanted above all else to be held by him, to laugh with him, to pretend there was no darkness in the flimsy, beautiful world they had built together. But now, she was tired. It had been a long few days, and her gut told her that they were to get longer yet. So she descended into sleep with a mind swirling with dark knowledge, a grave expression or her young face, and a heart much older than the one with which she had first entered the tournament. She knew a storm was coming, but even Julia could not have predicted just how soon it would arrive.

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Next instalment, _The Capture_: Julia's worst nightmares are realised as she is lured into a terrible trap.


	26. The Capture

The Capture

Something was wrong. Julia glanced up at the guard beside her, but he was staring emotionlessly forward. It was quiet. Dead quiet.

'Where is the crowd?' Julia said in a low voice, but the guard did not answer. He moved forward, and held her elbow so that she did the same. His grip was tight. Suddenly she was flung into the ring. A single black bird fluttered from a far corner of the stand, and Julia could hear it cawing distantly as she surveyed the rows of empty seats.

That morning, Julia had been drifting along in a half-sleep for an hour or so before she was jangled into wakefulness by the ringing of her room phone. She wiped a speck of sleep out of her eye as she pulled the handset to her ear, but found herself surprisingly perky. She felt that she had slept for a long time.

'Hello?' she answered, expecting to hear Asuka's musical 'Good morning', but the unfamiliar voice that seeped through the receiver belonged to a man,

'Miss Chang, your next fight is about to take place.'

'What? But it wasn't announced. No one told me. I—'

'If you are not at the central arena in fifteen minutes, you forfeit the match.' There was a click, and the dial tone rang out from the receiver, which hung loosely from Julia's hand. She was immediately awake, grabbing her kit bag and legging it to the arena. As she bounded through the corridors, it struck her that this could be some sort of trick, but what choice did she have other than to show up? Whether the match was genuine or not, she had vowed to fight for Jin, so the closer she could get to the core of these strange goings on, the better. Nevertheless, she was agitated and wary as she jogged towards the fighters' entrance of the central arena. A guard was waiting for her.

'Miss Chang.' he greeted her.

'Excuse me, but can you tell me what the hell's going on here?' her tone was not angry, but genuinely exasperated and confused, 'No one told me about a fixture until a phone call ten minutes ago. I've just had to run here, and I don't even know who I'm fighting.' The man appeared not to hear her, and simply opened the door. She glared at him, but he would not meet her eye. Frustrated, she stepped inside and the two began the walk towards the ring. The guard said something into the microphone at his lapel, and Julia felt an ominous trickling of realisation as it struck her that she could hear no cheering.

Julia glanced frantically around the empty arena. _Shit_, was all she had time to think as she spun on her heel, only to be greeted by rows of black, gas-mask-like heads. Every exit was blocked. She could hear her own panting breath echo across the ring. Then the group of crows opposite her parted with rigourous precision, and a huge, dark figure stepped out from between them. Jinpachi.

Julia had not seen him since the champagne reception, and was struck by just how massive he was. As he strode towards her, a twisted, straining mass of muscle, with his blackened, bulbous features, flashing a set of enormous and monstrously white teeth, he seemed like something other-worldly. But Julia was keenly aware that, although intimidated by his hulking, seething presence, there was none of the primal nausea which had made her previous encounter with him so gruelling. Working to keep her voice steady, Julia called out,

'So you're my next opponent.' Jinpachi set his flaring yellow eyes on her and replied in a voice like thunder,

'I'm your last opponent.' Julia did not move, even though Jinpachi was striding towards her. Her mind was working frantically. There was so much she did not understand, but these concerns had to be pushed aside. Just fifteen minutes before she had been dozing in her own room, now she was here, opposite the head of the Mishima Zaibatsu. She was aware that with one word he could have the crows that surrounded them hammering bullets into her vulnerable body. Every second that went by though, was another second that she was still alive, and valuable. Julia was trying to gauge how much information she could get out of Jinpachi in this volatile situation. Her heart was pounding, and she tried furiously to slow it, and clear some space in her head, without betraying any signs of agitation.

'Where are the crowds?' Julia wished she hadn't said it as soon as the words were out. Ham-fisted directness couldn't work – why should he tell her anything? What she needed was subtlety. Jinpachi did not answer, he simply smiled menacingly and made his way towards her, purposefully this time. Julia took up her fighting stance. Jinpachi launched his first punch. But Julia was ready, and skipped aside. He followed it directly with a side kick, but Julia saw it and defended herself in time. If she could just dance around Jinpachi for long enough, Julia thought, it might give her time to draw him out.

'It seems you've got a bit of a family reunion on your hands,' she said, ducking clear of another mighty punch, 'What with Kazuya coming back.' She tried to catch his expression as she bluffed left and then right and scurried clear of Jinpachi's rock-like fist as it flew towards her, but his face was such a knot of scorched flesh that it was difficult to pick up on any specific emotion in it. She continued, bouncing lightly from foot to foot, ready to jump clear as Jinpachi swung his leg, as thick and heavy as a tree trunk, in a low kick,

'At least there was someone there to watch me kick _his_ ass.' Jinpachi grunted and, pausing his onslaught, his bare chest heaving and laced with thick jutting veins, growled,

'Believe me, Miss Chang, you wouldn't want people to see what's going to happen here.' and with that he hoisted one enormous leg high in the air, where it tottered for a few breathless moments before stomping the earth with a shuddering jolt that blew up a cloud of dust, into which Julia had rolled, dodging the move. She used the dust to skirt round to the back of Jinpachi, and instead of jabbing at him with a kick, she continued,

'You think you can cover up the Zaibatsu's corruption like that? Everyone sees through it already.' Jinpachi was caught off guard as he spun round, staggering slightly with the momentum of his own gigantic bulk. Julia darted back, taunting,

'Just because you go around smashing at everyone that criticises you like some kind of angry child, don't think you can stop the truth from coming out. Whispers are spreading.' she feigned to the left, and then ducked an angry kick to the head, 'Eventually they'll eat away at your clumsy management. You can swing that big political club of yours around all you like, but soon it's all going to collapse on top of you, and there's no weapon strong enough to stop it.' Julia held her breath. There was a slowing in Jinpachi. As he drew himself up, his body now coated in thick petrol-like sweat, he barked back,

'Ignorant, insolent girl. We have a weapon, and it's coming now. It's coming here.' Julia's insides tightened. She hoped to God it wasn't the virus he was talking about. Her heart was pounding hard now. Adrenaline coursed through her body as Jinpachi's attempted hits became angrier, harder. One fist clipped her chin and for a heart stopping moment, as she felt the contact, she expected her head to crack backwards with the force, but the blow was not as heavy as she had thought it would be. Again, she had a sense that something was wrong. And those words – 'it's coming now' … she was watchful and twitchy. What was coming, and how? The pressure was rising, and she wondered how much longer she could keep Jinpachi at arm's length. With her body and mind racing to keep up with one another she persisted,

'Well I wish it'd hurry up and get here. This is the second time you've made me dance with you, Old Man, and it's not any more interesting this time around.' Jinpachi gave a yell as he launched at her with furious fists, but she was ready for him, and defended herself against every blow,

'Ungrateful brat.' he raged, 'And to think we let you live all this time, when we could have been done with you in the first round.' Julia darted past him, and he followed her, his whole body seething with effort and rising anger.

_Right_, thought Julia, _I'll just have to get him madder._ and, her whole body cold with fear, she ran full at him. If he anticipated her, and got a blow in before she could, thought Julia, that would be the end. She would be out and then …who knew what would happen? But Jinpachi did not anticipate her. He had become so used to her bird-like evasion of his blows that this sudden attack was totally unexpected, and knocked him right off his feet. He sprawled on his back like some kind of ape for a few seconds before he succeeded in dragging his hulk of a body up, and Julia could see that his face was burning like a red angry fist embedded in those twitching, straining shoulders,

'I could have wrung your neck myself long before this!' Jinpachi shouted thunderously, spittle flying from his lips, 'What with your mother, we knew you'd be a pest. But who could have predicted just how _useful_ you would become?' he was ranting now, his white teeth flashing, his eyes blazing with a crazed triumph. 'Who knew you would make such perfect bait?' The word sent a shiver down Julia's spine. 'You may think you are important, but you are nothing more than a pawn in a plan much too big for you to understand. You run around having your little love affair, simpering like a dog after the heir to the Mishima Zaibatsu, with no idea what you've involved yourself in.' Julia was struck cold. How did he know? Her guard slipped, and Jinpachi caught her in a moment of unmasked shock. 'And you thought you were so clever in concealing it all. So clever you used one of _my own _employees to help you arrange your sordid meetings.'

The porter. Before Julia's eyes suddenly flashed a dozen incidents which proved his betrayal. She was bewildered. Of course, why had she trusted him? What had she been thinking? Julia felt like she would cry with anger at the stupid trap her witless love had led her into.

'Well it's all out now – you, a filthy, disgusting whore parading yourself as a fighter. Kazuya may have spoilt things last time, dragging half the city here, but this time,' Jinpachi's eyes blazed, 'There's no one to see.' and with a shout which seemed to rend the very sky apart, he tore across the ring and launched himself into Julia. The blow was devastating, and Julia was totally unprepared. She felt as if she had just been hit by a tank as she flew backwards and crashed against the arena edge, her body ringing with sharp pain. She tried to rise, but before she had time to recover herself, Jinpachi had descended upon her with hammering fists. It was like being pelted with boulders. Suddenly, Julia felt a familiar, terrible gut sickness rising in her. She cowered before the inhuman heaving mass of a man who stood over her, his muscles shivering and swollen with the heat of the fight. She expected more blows, but none came. She looked up, and with a primal, awful sense of cold white fear, saw that there, soaring in front of the blazing sun, was a winged figure. Julia's heart leapt into her mouth. Jinpachi had seen it too.

'No!' she screamed wildly, 'No!' It was Jin. Through the blood-soaked hair which clung to her battered cheeks, Julia saw him soar downwards towards Jinpachi like a bullet, black wings rippling with the speed. Jinpachi roared an order at his men. There was the whizz and lash of metal, and suddenly Jin had stopped. He was twisting, writhing in midair. Nets had been cast from all angles, thick metal ropes lashed over him, and Julia could only scream and beat at Jinpachi with weak fists as she watched her beloved writhe furiously and helplessly like a fly caught in a spider's web. Then that sickening, fearful sense of intrusion, of Wrong began to intensify, until it was all Julia could do to collapse, screaming with the awfulness of it. It was a physical pain now, dragging at her very soul. Before she blacked out, she managed to catch a glimpse of Jin, and he was monstrous.

* * *

Next instalment, _The Laboratory_: Julia and Jin find themselves trapped in a mysterious laboratory. Who put them there? And can they escape alive?


	27. The Laboratory

The Laboratory

Julia came to with a heaviness in her head. She felt like she was dragging herself out of a sludge pit as she propped herself up, wincing. She tried to examine her surroundings, but it was as if everything were muffled, like she were hearing sounds under water. Her body ached a little. But more than this, there was the overbearing unnatural sickness that she had felt so intensely in the arena, and which still now hung over and through her. It was not a specific pain in any part of her; it was just an unshakeable physical sensation, and something deeper, which took over entirely, making it difficult to focus on anything else.

Finally she was able to gain some consciousness of her surroundings. She was in a room, a small room, bare, and white. Opposite her, though, instead of a wall, there were bars, thin, criss-crossing bars, like a cage. And beyond them . . . Julia pulled herself shakily to her feet, steadying herself against the wall, and went forward. She leaned against the solid net, pressing up against it as she tried to focus her vision, desperately wanting to ignore the horrible, unsettling feeling inside her.

She saw that it was some kind of laboratory, vast and complicated. She really was in a cage, just a little off-shoot in the corner of the enormous lab, which was a jarring riddle of machinery, flashing, twitching, letting out intermittent hydraulic sighs, all accompanied by a pervasive electronic hum. There was something oddly familiar about it all, but the memories she had of the place were dappled, drifting past her like snatches of a half-remembered dream. Then she saw him.

Julia felt as if a fist had just clamped around her heart. She gave out a little cry as she spotted Jin, splayed between two hefty iron pillars, his arms and legs bound by thick chains. They looked primitive in amongst all of the intricate machinery, but then, Jin looked like nothing on earth. He was seething, thrashing, his body carrying a translucent bluish sheen. The scar, which has once been but a single mark on his right shoulder, had spread, its black spikes threading their way across his entire torso, so it was now an ebony tangle of singed flesh. His arms, beginning from just above the elbow, had been transformed. It was as if his very flesh had moulded into his fighting gloves, so that the skin of his forearms was cracked and hard. On his head, just visible, were the beginnings of two charred, horny spikes. Most remarkable, and most terrifying of all, were his wings. Enormous black fans which spread and jolted with the movements of his body, flaying dramatically. The feathers were the smoothest, the finest imaginable, and as the light caught them, their impenetrable inky blackness was tinged for a millisecond with every imaginable shade of purple, indigo, plum, navy, violet.

Julia shook with fear. She felt a strong compulsion to flee, to cower. Her stomach turned in revulsion and, to her own surprise, her eyes prickled with tears of anger and distress at seeing Jin in this state. It was the first time she had really looked at him once the devil gene took over, and it was worse than she had ever imagined. A sweeping, horrible surge of love drowned out her sickness and her fear, and all she could feel was utter hate and panic and terror at seeing Jin so changed.

'Jin!' Without thinking, she called out to him. He was still. His eyes fixed instantly on Julia, his nostrils flaring. She thought she detected a brief glimmer of recognition, and Jin made as if to move towards her but, grating and clanging, the chains held him back. And he was suddenly enraged again, and he twisted and roared at his constraints. Julia doubled over. It was as if someone had punched her in the gut. Coughing, a little thread of saliva clinging to her lips, she had to grab the bars to steady herself; but the feeling continued, and Jin was raging and roaring. Julia felt oppressed, and sick, and suddenly extremely tired. But, with another surge of effort, she was able to pull herself upright, and mustering all of her strength into her voice, called out,

'Jin! Jin, stop it, please.' And extraordinarily, he did. His eyes shot towards her, his body quivering with exertion, and as his gaze remained fixed on her, his face seemed to soften, to become more human. His panting slowed, and as it did, Julia witnessed something remarkable. The possessed mania seemed to drift from Jin's eyes, his body slackened, and there he was, her love, her one, her only. He was not completely restored – the wings and the tattoo remained, as did a vague sense of otherness about him, but he was there. Julia felt suddenly infinitely better. There was still a faintly lingering sense of dread in her stomach, but it was dim, manageable. And then it dawned on her. Why had she not realised before? All this time, it had been Jin who had been causing that strange, awful feeling. Not Jin himself, of course, but the devil within him. Even at the first champagne reception . . . could it be?

'J-Julia.' She heard his thin, deep voice, and darted forward, held back by those cold, cruel bars.

'Jin, oh Jin.' it was all she could say, for her voice was choked with tears. It had been so long since she had seen him, or spoken to him, that she found herself overwhelmed by the very fact of his presence, and a desperate, irrational need to touch him, to be near him.

He looked around, heavily, slowly.

'Where are we?' He asked.

'I've no idea. But my head. Urgh.' She held a hand to her temple, which was throbbing. 'I feel like I've been asleep for days.' It suddenly struck Julia that she was not injured. The last thing she recalled, she was undergoing the most horrendous beating of her life, but looking down at her limbs, there was little visible indication except for a few bruises. Julia ran her fingers over her brow, which was a little sore, and felt the distinct ridge of a scar just below her hairline.

'Holy shit. I _have_ been asleep for days, maybe more. Do you remember anything, Jin?'

'I –' he seemed to be struggling to collect his thoughts, 'There were men here, in white coats.' he squinted across the room, 'And they kept talking about . . . something. I don't know what it was . . . and they,' he looked towards Julia, his eyes beginning to fill with dark, strange emotion, as memories appeared to drift back to him, 'They did something to you.' Julia felt a jolt of fear. But it was not Jin's words that had struck her, it was him. She let out a little yelp as a surge of black, terrible nauseous terror shot through her. Her legs buckled under her and she collapsed. Suddenly everything seemed to be engulfed in an enormous, rending, shattering noise. Jin was roaring, screaming, and his constraints rang and clattered with the heat and power that seemed to be oozing out of his every pore. Julia felt it too, and curled into herself on the floor, wracked with the worst terror and pain and utter despair and dread she had ever experienced. It was all she could do.

A heaving crash rang out, and Julia managed to glimpse out between her fingers, which she had unconsciously pressed over her eyes, Jin, transformed, terrible and glorious, his body a mass of heaving power, his wings splayed wide, as he tilted his head back and let out a roar which made the very ground beneath her shake.

Julia knew, somehow, that she must do something; she must act now or lose Jin forever. With every atom in her body screaming against her, she managed to uncurl herself, like a frozen crustacean, and yell out in a voice that seemed to come from somewhere else,

'Jin! Jin! Please, come back to me! Jin, I love you!'

Julia felt the wave under which she had been drowning suddenly pull away, leaving her gasping and shaking in the wake of it all. She heard herself sobbing, and could not understand what it was that pulled her up, why her body shook uncontrollably, and who it was that held her, fiercely, and swept her hair back and kissed her. She cried into the kiss, and as he drew away, Julia managed to open her eyes and look at Jin's face. She still hiccupped with little sobs, but felt calmer, more aware.

And he was there. Julia could hardly believe it was Jin, in the flesh. His arms were so solid, so familiar. Julia pushed herself against him and they kissed again, passionately. All her fear and love and anger went into that kiss, until she felt she would burst at any moment, and her atoms would drift off somewhere, away from the unreality of all this.

'Julia, what are we going to do?' Dazed, she looked around, and saw the charred furls of metal, like chocolate shavings, that had been Jin's chains. Behind her, the bars of her prison had been melted away, and steamed, black and warped on either side.

'How do we get out?' she asked.

'I don't know, but, shit.' Jin pointed up. Julia followed the line of his arm and saw a security camera. The two exchanged a glance, and bolted. They ran towards the door, which Jin rammed down. They hopped over the splintered fragments and charged down the corridor.

'Stop!' a voice commanded from behind them. Julia glanced over her shoulder and saw a man in a white coat dart in the opposite direction.

'Shit. He's going to get more.' She said. Jin grunted, and the two swerved round a corner, only to be met by a herd of crows charging towards them. Their shoes squeaked on the polished floor as they halted and swung in the other direction, half running, half dragging each other along. Julia had been overcome by tiredness, but now the adrenaline pumped through her, and together they hurtled along the corridors, praying to see an exit soon.

All the while, the guards were sprinting after them. Luckily their armour slowed them down.

'Why aren't they firing?' panted Julia. Jin glanced at her darkly, and the two ran on.

'There!' shouted Jin. Julia looked forward to the room just ahead of them, and there it was -- daylight, an escape. The pair skidded to a halt, and Julia pressed her hands against the glass of the large window.

'Fuck. We're too high up.' Looking down, she could see that they were on at least the ninth floor of a tall building.

'Stand back.' commanded Jin, and the bewildered Julia stepped away from the window as he drove himself towards it with a chair. The glass shattered and flew out in a twinkling cloud.

'Jin!' Julia shouted in panic as crows piled into the room. Before she had a chance to understand what was happening, Julia's feet were whipped up from beneath her. She screamed as she was hurled out into the air. She scrambled frantically for something to grab on to, and found herself clinging for dear life to Jin. Looking down, she saw the ground sweeping away far below, and realised with a gasp of awe, that they were flying. Jin was gliding with those two beautiful wings, holding Julia to him. She pulled herself tighter, and let her head buzz with the aftermath of everything as they soared off, and away from the laboratory.

* * *

Next instalment, _The Last_: Julia and Jin, reunited, take refuge for the night, but their happiness is soon torn apart once again.


	28. The Last

Don't be fooled by the title – this story's got a little way left to go.

* * *

The Last

'You were right. It's empty' breathed Jin, setting Julia down, and scanning the interior of the abandoned building. It was the same building on whose fire escape she and Xiaoyu had sat only a few weeks earlier, although that all felt to Julia like a very long time ago now.

'You can thank Hwoarang for that little pearl of wisdom.' she replied, slamming shut the window they had just flown in through, and wrapping her arms around herself against the cold which penetrated the shell of an apartment block.

Jin was skirting through the nearly bare rooms, decorated only with the odd piece of dilapidated furniture here and there;

'I just hope he's not anywhere around. That's the last thing I need right now.' and he pushed a tired hand through his hair. Julia was exhausted too. Her bones felt heavy, and she let herself slump down on to an old rickety metal bed. She rested her forehead on one palm.

'Jin, I'm so sorry I ever listened to that bastard. It was only because of him that I –'

'I know.' Jin glanced down at her with those thoughtful, dark eyes.

'I should have had more faith in you.'

'Maybe so.' Julia looked up at him, and he was at the window, looking out, so she could not see his face. 'I didn't contact you because,' he paused, and Julia shivered involuntarily with the cold, 'Well, by then it had gone too far anyway.' Julia stared at the back of him, at those long, inky wings, which seemed to shimmer in the thinning light of the closing day. Jin stared out across the vista of the city, which was bathed in a dusky half-mist. There was a sad, steady calm which seemed to drift up from the worn streets, and the faraway purr of the traffic.

'It's getting late.' was all Julia said.

'It'll be dark soon.'

'I'm so tired.'

Jin turned to her, and their eyes met. There was the briefest shiver of fear between them, but it soon settled like thin dust, and then there seemed only to be their steady breathing, and the quiet room, and the coming night.

Jin laid a hand on Julia's shoulder, and it was as if everything that needed to be said was there in that touch. Her body felt warm as his hand slid down her back, and his lips found hers. His fingers skimmed the inside of her leg, and she felt herself tremble involuntarily. He body radiated heat as he leant over her, and they fell on to each other, kissing. There was a ripple of pleasure. Jin's hands were on Julia's thighs, and she felt herself arch into him, her hands skitting frantically over the tensing muscles of his back. The charred remains of his clothes seemed to fall away, and Julia kissed his solid chest and stomach, letting him undress her with fierce, intense hands, which pulled her into him. He buried his mouth in her neck, and she moaned with the deep, angry warmth of his kisses.

The streets seemed far away now. Another world altogether. The black of night had engulfed them, and now there was no tournament, no devil, nothing but their young, strong bodies, etched in the pallid moonlight as they tore at one another, searching, climbing towards something. Julia could feel only Jin's hands and his body, and the rhythm, as she looked up at his hard, dark face. Imperfect, but not a devil. He was still here, he was still human. He was flawed, and passionate, and making love to her. She didn't care. All she knew in that moment was that she loved him, and that they were alive and together, their bodies moving in unison, their limbs sliding over one another as their lips met clumsily amidst the heat. Finally Julia felt herself give way, and for one beautiful, clamourous minute she felt absolute freedom, and clarity. It was the same as that transcendent sensation she felt sometimes when she fought, or researched, as if she had suddenly stepped out of a stuffy room which she hadn't, until that moment, realised was so, and spread her arms and could see and feel and taste everything. She heard the squeak of metal as she twisted her hands around the bed frame, and all at once, the edges of her perfect photograph were burning, and she could hear her own panting, and see Jin above her, his body heaving and slick with sweat, his eyes closed.

Julia closed her eyes too. Jin brushed the hair from her flushed cheeks and littered them with a few exhausted kisses, before collapsing. Then they both slept. A deep, contented, dreamless sleep, far removed from the world outside, oblivious to the coming dawn.

There was an almighty crash, and Julia's eyes flicked open. She sat up, and squinted. Light was streaming into the room, and it was a few moments as Julia perched herself on the edge of the bed before she could see well enough to discern what had happened. A wind wailed through the doorway to where she sat, and Julia's stomach lurched as realisation began to dawn on her. Still bleary, she stumbled to the open doorway, and saw that the window, as well as the surrounding wall, were gone, smashed straight through. Panicking, Julia turned and saw that Jin was not there.

'Jin!' she called out, skitting through the few bare rooms. She dragged on her charred clothes and pattered across the bare room, trying to avoid the fragments of shattered glass that littered the floor, and looked out from the gaping hole across the city. Another gust of wind threatened to unsteady her, and she grasped frantically at a metal rod that jutted from the fractured wall. As she surveyed the skyline and the city below, there was no sign of Jin, but, gingerly looking out over the edge, Julia could see black feathers eddying in the intermittent gusts as they made their way slowly to earth.

At a loss, Julia scrambled to put on her shoes, her mind racing as she wondered what the hell she was going to do. She hurtled down the stairs and out of the doorway, the same one in which she had first met Hwoarang. An idea struck her and, with no other option that she could see, Julia turned down the little alley and into the fighting square, where she found the street gang lounging on a porch, Xiaoyu and Hwoarang amongst them.

'Xiaoyu!' Xiaoyu got up in surprise,

'Juria! Where did you go! That crash! Were you—' but Julia interrupted her,

'It's Jin,' and her eyes flicked between the suspicious faces of the gang members, every gaze fixed on her. Xiaoyu understood and skipped over them, pulling Julia aside so they couldn't be overheard. Hwoarang's eyes followed them.

'Oh god, Xiaoyu,' began Julia, 'I think … I think something awful is going to happen.' Xiaoyu's eyes traced Julia's face, which was deathly white, and knitted with anxiety.

'Juria, I don't understand.' Julia blinked and tried to regain an awareness of the situation,

'Jin's gone. He's transformed.'

'He becomes devil?' gasped Xiaoyu, tears springing up in her eyes. Julia nodded urgently,

'And I think the Zaibatsu may have done something. I don't know what but … there's something going on, some kind of plan …' she tried to recall the details of the last few days, and months, which seemed to meld into one blur of half-understood information, 'They did … something. Urgh!' she punched the wall in frustration, 'I can't remember! It's all a blur.' The fighters looked up. Xiaoyu frantically tried to soothe Julia,

'Juria. It doesn't matter. If Jin is a devil, the most important thing is that we find him. Where do you think he is?' Julia's mind raced furiously, and then she was struck, inexplicably, with a thought.

'The arena.' she said.

Xiaoyu looked incredulous, 'But why—'

'I don't know, but I just feel like that's where he's gone.'

'Wait, that's where the final is.' Xiaoyu piped up, 'All the papers are talking about it. Asuka was knocked out, and no one knew what had happened in your match … there were no reports. So, we did not know who Jin will be facing, but …' she trailed off, seeing a strange, dark light in Julia's eyes,

'Oh God, Xiao, maybe that's why … the virus.' Xiaoyu looked at her, confused, 'They captured us, the Zaibatsu. I was sedated so I don't know what they did, but Dr. Boskonovitch said that they've transformed the devil gene into a virus. I think …' Something flashed into her mind, a memory, a needle, liquid forced into throbbing veins, 'I think that they gave it to him. I think that Jin is carrying that virus. If Jin knows about the final, somehow, if he's gone to the arena … it's the biggest event of the year … with that many people infected, it won't be long before … That's their plan, Xiao … I don't know why, by they're going to infect everyone.' Xiaoyu's eyes glistened with tears, and she pressed her hands to her mouth. Hwoarang, who had been observing the exchange at a distance, rose and walked over. Julia flashed a look of hatred at him, but he ignored it,

'Is everything okay?'

'It's none of your business.' snapped Julia. 'Xiaoyu, pull yourself together. We have to get to the central arena, there's not much time.'

'Maybe I can be of assistance?' said Hwoarang, and he dangled a set of car keys in front of Julia's face.

The car screeched through the crowded streets. As they hurtled across the city, Julia explained the situation to Hwoarang as best she could.

'But if he's transformed, completely I mean, then how are you going to save him in time, before he infects anyone?' he asked.

'I'm not. I can't.'

'Then what are you going to --?' but Hwoarang did not need to finish the question. He glanced at Julia in the rear-view mirror, and saw that her face was stained with tears.

She was going to kill Jin.

* * *

Next instalment, _The Saviour_: Julia meets with Jin in the central arena, and a terrifying battle ensues.


	29. The Saviour

Hey, hope you liked the last chapter. I was slightly worried about it – I've never written sex before – but I was so sick of those weirdly explicit scenes you read, not just on fanfiction, but everywhere. For me, that's not what sex is about, but I don't know if my approach worked or not!

* * *

The Saviour

'Julia, you okay?' Xiaoyu stretched back around the front passenger seat of the car. Julia was folded forward, her head on her knees. She looked up, and her face was pained. She could feel, rising within her, the unholy nausea that the devil induced. She shook her head,

'He's near.' she said. Xiaoyu looked confused, but didn't say anything else.

Somewhere in the direction of the arena, there was an enormous crash.

'Shit, was that him?' asked Hwoarang, flashing a glance at Julia in the rear-view mirror,

'I don't know. If it was …'

'We can still get him.' said Xiaoyu, her eyes intense, 'There might still be time.' Julia nodded, and looked forward.

Flecks of ash began to gather on the windscreen, and as the car tore down the final street, those flecks became black wisps that drifted ominously through the gathering smoke. Craning herself forward between the driver and passenger seats, Julia saw that the strip of sky visible between the surrounding buildings was stained orange, and as the car whipped around the final corner, the windows of the shops flared out with the reflection of what, in the next moment they realised was a blaze, engulfing a mass of cars, whose bodies had been warped and crushed by some enormous force. Behind them, the central arena, one side of which appeared to have been torn down. People were scrambling over the rubble, screaming.

Julia's heart was thumping hard as she struggled through the bloodied, fleeing men and women. Her body was wracked with that outrageous, unnatural revulsion, but there was not the option of succumbing to it, she simply couldn't. Something drove her on, though she knew not what. There was no way of knowing how, or how quickly the virus would spread. There was a shot, and a woman not two feet from Julia fell, dead. Horrified, Julia looked around to see that there were crows everywhere, their guns following the seething masses of spectators who jostled to escape. At their centre was Jin. But, it was not him. His skin was the colour of ash, devoid of all human sustenance, but reeking of sinister energy. Below it, his muscles seemed to swell with a mounting, pulsating force, which manifested itself in the ear-shattering screeches and roars that pierced the sky. All across his chest and arms spread the solid black furls of the tattoo, once a blemish on perfection, now an inseparable part of a different and terrifying being. Julia felt utterly numb as she realised that the creature she was looking at contained nothing but pure malice. He was evil incarnate, and every trace of the man she had loved was gone. Jin was already dead.

With another deafening bellow, he snapped his wings open and shot into the sky. Julia saw her chance, and darted forward, wrestling a rifle from the grip of a disorientated crow. Luckily, none of the others seemed to have registered the fray among the general confusion of screams and skirmishes that was now mounting into unchecked hysteria, with spectators and crows alike scrambling across rubble and one another like startled insects. Julia was experienced with guns, but this was unlike any rifle she had ever wielded, and it was a few moments before she had quite gotten to grips with the viewfinder and trigger. Once she had located these, however, it was merely a case of picking Jin out; but here too, Julia was momentarily hindered, as it was almost impossible to see anything through the plumes of smog and dust that veiled the sky and cast an eerie half-darkness across the arena. Julia lifted her eye from the viewfinder, and scanned the air. She soon spotted what she thought was Jin, a dark shadow behind the smog, and within seconds she was sure, as the shape became nearer and more distinct. Julia readied herself, took aim, pressed the trigger, but before she could shoot, something knocked her off her feet. The gun flew from her hands as she tumbled sideways into a mass of rubble.

Looking up, she saw Jinpachi standing over her, his face distorted into a manic grin, his eyes bulging and wild.

'Your part in this is finished. Now you must die.' he roared, and threw a fist at her head. Julia rolled clear of the blow just it time, and stumbled to her feet. Her eyes darted to where the rifle lay, but Jinpachi followed her gaze and ran full at her, forcing her backwards, and littering her body with a series of mighty punches and kicks. Meanwhile, Jin was circling overhead, and time was ticking away. Julia tried to run past Jinpachi to grab the gun, but he caught her, and the two grappled to the floor. Jinpachi, however, was much stronger than Julia, and soon had her pinned to the earth. Just a few blows from those monstrous fists and she would be out cold, and a bullet through her head not long after that. Jinpachi raised a fist to strike, and Julia winced in anticipation of the oncoming hit; but suddenly she felt the weight thrown from her body, and looked up to see Xiaoyu hammering the startled Jinpachi with tiny vicious kicks and punches.

'Quick!' she shouted, darting aside as Jinpachi, enraged, threw a lumbering punch , 'The gun!'

Julia, bloodied and dusty, scrambled to her feet and snatched up the rifle. She scoured the skies, and quickly located Jin, not more than thirty feet away, gliding towards the arena. The smoke had cleared a little, Julia could see Jin clearly through the viewfinder, soaring towards her. She squeezed the trigger, but, as he came at her, for a brief second he looked so like Jin. In that moment, it was as if she had opened the door to a cupboard which was full to bursting, and memories, good, bad, beautiful, and painful, came tumbling out. Julia flinched, her finger twitching on the trigger. It had only taken that second, she slammed the door shut again, but Jin had flown over her, and out of her immediate view. Julia cursed her own weakness and wheeled around, thrusting the gun into the air again. No sooner had she done so than someone had grabbed the barrel of the weapon, and torn it from her hands. She turned on the assailant,

'Kazuya!' But he did not look at her, simply lifted the rifle and pointed it at her head. Without thinking, she dodged to one side and grabbed clumsily at Kazuya, just as the gun went off, firing into the air. Julia tried to wrestle it out of his grasp, her muscles straining as she fought desperately against the snarling Kazuya.

'What are you doing?!' she screamed, 'We have to destroy it!' Kazuya thrust his face into hers, and Julia could see the milky emptiness of his one blind eye as he spat,

'Why would I want to destroy such a powerful weapon?'

'Weapon?' Julia almost loosened her grip, but was shaken back into the fight as Kazuya tried to wrench the gun away from her,

'You can't control it, Kazuya! It consumed you once and it will do it again!' But he wasn't listening. The two were now locked, each simply straining to pull the weapon free of the other, and Julia could feel the gun slipping inch by inch from her sweating hands. Her muscles shook with the strain. Desperately she shouted above the screams and gunfire,

'The devil gene is evil! It does nothing but destroy! Remember Jun!' and Kazuya's face seemed to fall for a brief second, and in that moment, Julia wrenched the gun from his grasp and darted across the arena, skipping over bodies punctured by bullets, blood speckling her ankles. Looking back, she saw Kazuya move to pursue her, but before he could go far, he had been rugby-tackled to the ground by Hwoarang, who proceeded to batter him, and the two rolled over one another in the dust, tearing, kicking, spitting in an animalistic battle. Julia did not wait to see the outcome, though, and spun around, only to be faced by Jin, standing on the ground not ten feet from her, his wings outstretched, framed by the dusty rays of light that managed to pierce the smoky fog. She raised the gun, found her mark, but he did not move. Julia, thought, no, felt, for a moment, just a moment, that it was Jin, that Jin was still alive. She was suddenly paralysed. It was like being in a dream, when she wanted to wake up but couldn't. She knew what she had to do, but instead, the arm holding the gun fell to her side, and she simply stared at him. He was looking at her. But no, not at her, past her. Julia turned, and strained to see what the figure was that was moving towards them, that paced across the blood-soaked earth with an such serenity. Asuka stepped out of the haze. She was looking past Julia, her face wracked with a kind of pain and longing incomprehensible to Julia. But before she had time to understand, Julia felt pain explode in her shoulder. She fell backwards, and the world seemed to spin around her. From where she lay, disorientated, she saw a great white light fill the sky, bleaching the smoky air. Accompanying it was a strange silence, a white, ringing silence that blanketed the shouts and the gunfire.

Julia managed, once it had passed, to prop herself up on one arm. She looked to her left shoulder, which was coated with blood, and saw that there was a bullet lodged in the ridges of black steaming flesh. She saw it as if she were looking at something else, though -- a piece of meat in a butcher's window. An unearthly calm seemed to wash over her, and she picked herself up, blood trickling down her arm and dripping from her fingertips. All around her were screams and the sound of guns, but it became so loud as to not be heard at all, and, moving slowly through the wafts of smoke and dust, squinting through the hazy sunlight, Julia could have been in Heaven, or a dream -- anywhere but here, on the solid ground, surrounded by death and grinding, shattering reality.

Soon Julia saw what it was that she was moving towards. From out of the mist two shapes became visible, and there were Asuka and Jin. Jin, really Jin. Not a devil, not even a trace, just Jin, beautiful and healthy and alive. Above all else he was alive. But Julia did not run to him, she did not kiss him or hold him or cry tears of rapture into his chest. As she stared at the tableau before her, she felt oddly distant, as if standing on a different plane altogether. Something clicked, and a terrible fear stirred within her, but this too, was muffled, distant. She spoke to them, but the words seemed to come from somewhere else, and as soon as they had escaped her lips, they seemed to drift away with the smoke, out of her memory, out of her mind. Jin and Asuka responded, but Julia did not seem to register what they said. She simply nodded and said,

'Take him somewhere safe, and stay with him.'

Suddenly Julia was seized from behind, and Kazuya was shaking her, yelling,

'What have you done, you idiotic little girl?!' But Julia was like a ragdoll in his hands, and simply stared at his sweat-slicked face. Finally she managed to mumble,

'What I've done?'

'You destroyed it! Think of the money! Think of the power! Gone! Gone! All for the sake of your juvenile little love affair!' and he punched her, hard. There was an odd, sharp sensation, which must have been pain, and she fell backwards on to Asuka. Hwoarang was grappling with Kazuya, and the two of them tussled with one another in a vain fist fight. Julia felt drunk. Seeing things happening but not understanding quite why, or what they meant.

With no time to even try, she felt her eyes focus dimly on another fight in the distance. Xiaoyu was darting her way around Jinpachi, whose terrifying blows were getting closer and closer to hitting their mark. Xiaoyu was getting tired, and cast anxious eyes over to where Julia sat.

Not knowing why, Julia got up, and ran unsteadily towards them. There was a gun on the ground, and, with her one good arm, she picked it up.

'Xiaoyu, move!' The voice seemed to come from somewhere else. But Xiaoyu did as she was told, and then Julia had swung the heavy weapon forward and pressed the barrel into Jinpachi's startled face. There was a shot. Julia dropped the gun, and stumbled backwards. It must have been her, she must have pulled the trigger. Her body shook as she moved to Xiaoyu, who was gasping for breath, head down, hands on knees. Jinpachi lay, still, like the aftermath of an avalanche. A bullet hole steamed in his forehead, which seemed to have crumpled in on itself like a paper bag, those bulbous eyeballs freakishly misaligned and gazing out emptily in two directions; Julia registered indifferently that his skull had been shattered.

'Oh my god! Juria, your arm.' She simply nodded. Her head seemed to gain a strange, selective sort of clarity as she understood what had to be done and said,

'We need to get back to the lab. We need to get the antidote. Where's Kazuya?'

He was already beside her, though. So was Hwoarang. Their fray must have broken up when they saw her shoot Jinpachi.

'You want control of the Zaibatsu, don't you?' she said to Kazuya. His eyes snapped to her, and he snarled,

'It's mine by rights. Jinpachi is dead.'

'But they don't know that.' she said, indicating the disorientated crows, some of whom had not yet registered Jinpachi's death, and were confusedly running about the arena, chasing down the last few spectators, and others who had seen Jinpachi fall, and were simply standing there, not knowing what to do. 'And neither do all the employees, the scientists.' Kazuya's eyes narrowed as he tried to suss her out.

'You can't simply walk into the Mishima mansion; they'll kill you on sight. But if we take Jinpachi to the labs, they'll have no choice but to accept you as the head. Then you can order them to give us the antidote.'

'Why should I? What do I need you for?'

Julia continued, her words clipping the heels of her thoughts as the facts of the situation came together in her head, 'Their plan was to infect the entire city, with this arena as the epicentre. Then they were going to use the antidote to hold us all to ransom. Who knows what the price would have been – money, political immunity, maybe even control of the city itself. With Jinpachi dead, they have no one to handle the release of the antidote, and who knows how long it will be before the entire city is swarming with devils, as powerful and as evil as Jin was, or you were. They'll tear everything apart, the Zaibatsu included. A force like that won't just destroy the city, it could potentially destroy the world.' Kazuya simply smiled darkly,

'Unless I just carry on where Jinpachi left off.'

'Try. You might struggle a little when you're the only human in a city full of devils. You're 'cured', remember?' Kazuya's face hardened in anger.

'How can you be certain of any of this? I could do it. I could win.'

'Perhaps.' Said Julia. 'But even if you did, even if you managed to regain control of the world's most powerful corporation at the same time as operating a city-wide hostage negotiation, working against an unknown ultimatum, even if you did all that, it wouldn't be _your_ victory, not really.

Let us have the antidote. We'll release it while you take back the Zaibatsu, and then we'll leave you alone.' They all stood with bated breath, waiting for Kazuya's answer. Finally he snarled,

'Fine. You can come. The others stay here.'

* * *

Next instalment, _The Return_: Julia penetrates to the heart of the Mishima organisation, and is shocked by what she finds.


	30. The Return

The Return

'Done.' Said Xiaoyu, as she tied off the bandage on Julia's shoulder. Julia tried to smile, but could not muster even that. She felt a hollow nausea inside her, but it wasn't because she had just watched Kazuya hack Jinpachi's monstrous, contorted head from his body. She recognised it as the same feeling she got when near the devil, but it was closer, sharper.

Kazuya raised the bleeding stump above his head, and the lines of crows assembled before him cheered his name in a roaring monotone. No sooner had they done so than their voices were drowned out by the deafening drone of a helicopter as it swung into the centre of the arena.

'Come on!' shouted Kazuya, and Julia and he dragged themselves aboard the enormous, shining black machine. Julia tried to pick out Xiaoyu and Hwoarang in the arena below as the hulking chopper rose into the air, but they were lost in the clouds of dust being blown up in every direction. The helicopter flashed in the sunlight as it emerged from the haze and swung up and away.

She turned inside. Kazuya was shouting in rapid Japanese into a walkie-talkie. Beside him was Jinpachi's head, and one of the grotesque, dead eyes seemed to be staring at her mockingly. She looked away.

Within minutes they were approaching the labs. Julia tried to ignore the sinister, sickening feeling in her gut, and simply focused on the building below, watching intently as the H on the roof grew bigger and bigger, until they had touched down, and she was dismounting beside Kazuya, who carried Jinpachi's head unabashedly in his blood-soaked hands. She noticed, out of the corner of her eye, that Kacuya's face was flecked with blood too.

They were approaching a woman, who was flanked by two scientists, and behind them, a row of crows. She wore heavy sunglasses, and a well-cut suit.

'Maria.' Said Kazuya, as he strode towards her.

'Good to see you again, Mr. Mishima. You have an extraordinary knack for escaping death, it seems.'

'Well, I can thank my son for that, or rather, the Devil – it plucked me clean out of that explosion. It knew I was on its side, I imagine.' and Julia noticed a twitch of a smile at the corners of Maria's mouth as she replied,

'Clever little bugger, isn't it?' and then, 'I see you brought us a present.'

'Yes. I thought it would be to your taste.' Saying this, he tossed the mass of blood-clotted hair and dead flesh to one of the scientists, who automatically put out his hands to catch it, and then recoiled in horror as scarlet flecks spattered across his white coat. He did not let got of the head though, and simply stood there, his jaw set in repulsion, as blood dripped on to his shoes. Julia grimaced, but the woman seemed faintly amused, and simply waved the two of them down into the building itself.

They stopped before a door. Maria raised one thin eyebrow in Julia's direction. Kazuya simply nodded, though, and they went inside, accompanied by one of the scientists.

'Take that to the freezers.' She told the other, indicating Jinpachi's head, and instructed the crows to stand guard outside the door, which she locked from within.

Kazuya had already placed himself at the head of the table as the woman indicated a seat to Julia. The scientist simply stood in the far corner of the room, his face void of expression.

'Not everyone is in favour of this, you know?' she said to Kazuya.

'No doubt. But nothing we can't deal with. First, I want to—' but Julia spoke over him,

'Kazuya.' He looked across at her. She was trying not to let the discomfort show on her face. The anxious, nauseous feeling was increasing. Whether or not Kazuya could tell this, he said to Maria,

'Oh, that's right. I have a request on behalf of our little _friend_ here.'

'I want the antidote.' As Julia said this, the woman, for the first time, turned to face her fully. Maria's expression seemed to change suddenly.

'What is she doing here?' Julia looked to Kazuya, confused, but he looked equally uncomprehending.

'That's the girl. The one who … You don't know, do you?' Kazuya's eyes flashed,

'I had my suspicions. No matter. Just give her the damned antidote and get her out of here.'

The woman's attention snapped back to Kazuya, and she eyed him sharply,

'Careful, Kazuya. I'm doing you a favour, remember? I could just as easily claim control for myself.' Kazuya snorted, but Julia sensed that he was submitting.

'Now,' continued the woman, addressing Kazuya rather than Julia, 'Please explain to me, quickly, what it is you intend to do, and how this girl is involved?'

'I'm taking back what's mine. And she wants to …' he hesitated, and looked towards Julia, half mocking, half genuinely questioning, 'What is it exactly you want to do? Save the world? Save Jin?'

The mere mention of his name by Kazuya made Julia feel violated, embarrassed, angry. She looked down at the grain of the polished tabletop. She tried to answer, but the words seem to stick in her throat. All at once she felt flustered, sick, in pain. She looked up again, and the eyes of the two others at the table were scared, baffled.

'What's wrong with her?' Kazuya asked Maria.

'You mean you don't recognise the symptoms?' A crushing realisation hit Julia.

She was infected, of course.

'It's so fast.' was all she managed to say, before she doubled over with a sudden, hot, jarring pain.

'Either we cure her or kill her.' Maria said to Kazuya. 'But before you decide, you should be clear about her.' Kazuya was listening. Julia was too. The pain had been sudden, and passed quickly, but she kept her head on the table where it was, not letting them see that she had already recovered. Maria went on,

'This girl is Julia Chang. Her mother was Michelle Chang. No doubt you remember the fuss she caused in the third tournament. Michelle was described by her tribe, members of whom we were able to capture and interrogate, as possessing a spiritual force of "good". Whatever this meant scientifically, she was certainly able to operate on a channel beyond normal human perception, and it was this ability that allowed her to defeat and destroy the "evil" force of Ogre. The tribesmen believed this power to be genetic, and that each entity of "good" had a polar entity of "evil" to which it was naturally drawn, a sort of soul mate, as Jun was to you. We were, of course, sceptical, but observed Julia closely nonetheless. When it was revealed that she and Jin, your son, were having an affair, our first impulse was to eliminate Julia, but we soon realised that, with Jin's "soul mate", his one hope of salvation within our reach, if we were clever, we might be able to use the both of them to our own ends.

With Julia as bait, we captured her and Jin, and injected Julia with the Devil Virus, a little project we had been developing for some time now.'

A dizzying spectrum of needles, blood, tubes and liquids flooded into Julia's head. It was _her_. She was the one who had been infected, not Jin. As if reading her thoughts, Maria went on,

'Jin already possessed the gene, and therefore, like you, could not be infected with the virus. We feared that if Julia knew she was carrying it, she would kill herself. But with Jin's transformation as a convenient distraction, we allowed them both to think they were escaping, when in fact they were just running into the trap we had laid for them. Feeding them orders in their unconscious states, we had even subliminally manipulated them to come to the central arena today, where thousands of people would be gathered, fenced in, like amoebas in a Petri dish, all obliviously looking forward to the final of the tournament. Thereafter, the plan was to use the cure as a ransom. We had already immunised ourselves, of course. The virus develops much faster than the gene, in a matter of days, which meant we could demand a high price.'

'Which was?'

'Control of the city. The money, businesses, transport links, everything. And it was all going so well until you turned up.' Her tone was jocular rather than angry. Julia was amazed that they could be treating it all so lightly. She felt her body convulse in rage, and slammed her hands down on the table.

'You _used_ me.' she hissed 'You tricked me into infecting all those people. You used my love for Jin.'

Kazuya sniggered, but Maria shook her head at him, sharply.

'Don't be a fool, Kazuya. She's infected. The slightest thing could set her off, and don't think you'll win, either.'

Kazuya eyed Julia calmly, pensively. Slowly he said,

'Give her the antidote.'

'As you wish.'

* * *

Next instalment, _The Antidote_: Julia must race against the devil within her if she is to save humanity.


	31. The Antidote

The Antidote

At some point, Julia had left the network of gleaming corridors behind, and was now being ushered through vast halls of steaming, bleeping, churning machinery, bubbling vats of unknown liquids, and the anonymous, confused faces of scientists. It was strangely, horribly familiar. Every so often some dreadful memory would flash through her mind and her focus would shift inward, as if pulled by some magnetic force, and for a few moments, darkness, blackness, rage, was all she could feel. Then it would pass; but she knew what it was and it scared her.

'Wait here.' the scientist leading her ordered. He pressed his thumb against a little pad beside the heavy metal door, which glided open. He entered, leaving Julia to wait. The man seemed to be gone an age. And with nothing to distract her, Julia found it difficult to resist the pull of that cruel, alien force within her, becoming ever more insistent. Finally the scientist returned. Looking around quickly, he pressed a vial, about the size of a tin can, into Julia's palm. She noticed that his hands were sweating.

'You have to get it into the water supply.' He said.

'How? Can't you help me. There must have been a plan for how it would be released.' The man swallowed,

'There was, but not everyone is on Kazuya's side. Most do not even know he is in the building. It won't be long before they notice that one of the vials is gone, now you need to get out of here.' And before she had time to protest, he was hurrying her back the way they had come. Julia clutched the vial inside her jacket, acutely aware of the eyes of the baffled scientists trained on her all the time. She glanced up at the man leading her, and saw that his jaw was set in rigid fear, and his eyes fixed at some unknown point of escape in the distance.

When finally Julia clambered up, out of the trap door on to the roof, she saw that the helicopter by which she had arrived was still there, pilot at the ready. She clambered in next to him, and he helped her on with her headgear.

'I need to get this into the water supply,' she told him, pulling the vial out of her jacket. 'Where do I go?'

'What is it?' the man asked, and Julia felt a sudden surge of blinding, searing rage. She gripped her seat tight as she fought to suppress the sensation. She succeeded, but, on looking down at her hand, saw that she had managed to literally tear off some of the padding on her seat. The pilot was staring at her open-mouthed.

'I-I'm sorry.' She stuttered, 'but there's no time. Please just take me.' The man nodded, not looking at her. His hands darted across the control panel as he prepared for takeoff, and soon, with the mechanical _whoosh-whoosh-whoosh_ of the propellers, they were in the air, and gliding over the city. Julia looked down at the streets whizzing below them, swarming with people totally unaware of the evil brewing within their own bodies at that very moment.

Soon the tall buildings slipped away, and the dizzying scrawl of the city gave way to the green tufts of treetops. Julia's vision was momentarily bleared as sunlight glinted up off a river below. The slick blue ribbon snaked its way between the hills, leading up and up. And for a moment, Julia hated that river. The nasty, winding little dribble that was to destroy the devil. Its glimmering seemed to be a mocking wink. She could end this, she thought. She glanced over at the pilot. She could rip the control stick from his hand, she could send them both plummeting to the earth, and then the devil would be safe. No one would know.

Julia shook herself. This was the influence of the devil virus, of course. But for a moment she had _believed_ it. She had really begun to question what she was doing. She gripped the vial tightly, her hand shaking. This troubled her. Something else troubled her too – in the back of her dazed consciousness, there was something that she could not quite remember, or that she would not let herself remember … in the arena, as she had stood over Jin and Asuka … There was no time to try and recall it, though, for the crest of the hill was emerging into view. Julia craned forward. Something within her revolted, but she pushed it back, struggling to focus on the task at hand.

'There's nowhere for me to land. I'm going to have to lower you down.' said the pilot through his microphone. Julia nodded weakly, and waited for the few agonising minutes while he tried to manoeuvre the aircraft into position above the river.

'Think you can climb down from here?'

'Yes.' she answered hurriedly, not bothering to look. The pilot instructed her to unstrap herself, and, her whole body wracked with a brutal, and ever-growing pain, she pulled herself into the hull, where the pilot indicated an emergency ladder. Still clinging to the vial, she struggled with the fastenings on the ladder, and was struck by sudden vertigo as she glimpsed the ground, about ten stories below. Her head reeled, and she stumbled backwards.

'I'm fine.' she said, more to herself than the pilot, and crawled to the edge, where she succeed in unhooking the ladder with her one good arm. With a grunt, she pushed it out of the side of the machine, and watched as it unfurled in the air, snapping taught a good way above the river.

'Climb down!' yelled the pilot. 'I'll lower you down once you get to the bottom, and you can toss it in.'

The earth loomed ominously into view as Julia crept over the side of the hull. She was struck almost immediately by the wind, which pressed her fiercely against the ladder. Her main concern was the vial, which she clutched tightly to her breast. With one hand, she began to lower herself down as quickly as she could. But all the time, there was a nasty, nagging voice which told her to stop, to toss the vial. _It'll be easy_. It said, _Just a little flick of the wrist and you can forget all this_. It burnt into her brain and her ears and her body, a revulsion and a physical pain. She carried on. At one point, the wind picked up, and shook the ladder so violently that Julia lost her footing. One foot slipped from the rung, and she was sent rattling down the ladder. Her stomach dropped out of her as she was thrown outward and very nearly lost her grip. The wind dragged at the flap of her jacket, and her injured arm had been flung outwards painfully, while she tried desperately to keep hold of both ladder and vial with the other. Just one more strong gust and she would have been torn clean off. Frantically, she wrapped her legs around the ladder, and scrambled to pull her body inwards. When she finally managed to secure herself, curled in a ball around the ropes, her heart was hammering in her chest, and her body was cold with fear. Deep inside her she felt something laughing.

Eventually, she reached the bottom of the ladder, and, slowly, the copter descended. Julia was still a good forty feet off the ground when she realised the aircraft was not going any further. But with the wind hurling her about so violently, she could not be sure of the vial hitting its mark were she simply to drop it, and there was no way of throwing it with only one arm. She looked up. The pilot obviously did not realise she was injured. There was only one hope. If she let go, she might be able to direct her body into the water, taking the vial with her; but, looking down, she saw that the fall would probably kill her.

Something within her revolted. It was not far away or indistinct now. It was real. She felt suddenly that she could not, that she _would not_ sacrifice herself for this. She could throw it away. Throw that nasty vial away, climb up the ladder and –

Her stomach crumpled. Her whole body felt hot. There was something burbling inside her. It seemed to explode suddenly and painfully, and she felt a black, sinister power shoot through her veins. It was the accelerated transformation of the virus, but who knew it would happen so suddenly? Julia tried to focus, but all she could think was that she must not die. The devil _must not die._ The sky and the earth rolled across her vision. She swung this way and that, her whole body wracked with pain, nausea, and the sweat of evil, of sin, of hatred and everything that was bad and cruel, oozing out of her pores, filling her eyes and her ears. Nothing seemed to matter except _preservation._

With a final, desperate surge of resistance, Julia let go. There was a moment, a gasp, inhalation. She was suspended in the air, dreamlike and beautiful, above the earth, immune to gravity, it seemed, for a brief second. It was a glorious moment, akin to those she experienced so rarely when she fought, in which she felt pure and good, and free of all corruption. Above all, she felt relief, as a wave of realisation washed over her, and she knew that there was nothing left that she should live for, but much for which she should die. With this thought glimmering somewhere in the air, like a diamond, Julia allowed her body to be dragged to earth. Faster and faster, the ground rushing at her all at once. She twisted herself so that she was hurtling towards the water, which within seconds had risen up, charging at her like a train. Then, silence.

Above her, she could see the sunlight flickering through the path of bubbles left by her body, and all around her, the dark liquid of the antidote swirled, unfurling like smoke amongst the suspended shards of the vial. Julia let herself go, and felt numbness embrace her body as the sunlight grew dimmer, and dimmer, and went out.

* * *

Next and final instalment, _The End_


	32. The End

Wow, it's been a long slog, but here it is – the final chapter! Sorry it's taken me so long to get here.

* * *

The End

The sunlight glimmered through Julia's eyelashes. She heard a voice, but it ebbed away, and the light moved here and there. Clouds seemed to skit across the sky, making everything intermittently light and then dark.

Eventually, the voices, which would rise and fall, like the tide, because clearer, and occasionally Julia would hear a word, and then a sentence. The light soon was joined by colours, dim outlines. A vase of flowers, a figure. People came and went, their motions sometimes sped up, sometimes achingly slow, as if a child were playing with the buttons on an old video recorder. She was touched and soothed, and cold cloths put on her face. There was a beep that sounded sometimes, and wires that coursed everywhere, tangled, like hair. One day, she heard her name, and felt her body move. Someone came near her, and as her eyes flickered into the sunlight, she saw who it was, and smiled.

Some days later, though Julia did not know if it were days, or minutes, or weeks, the same thing happened, and Julia's head rolled to one side. She smiled. There was Jin, leaning forward, his face fixed on her. When he saw her smile, he leapt up, and gripped her hand,

'Julia, you're awake!' She nodded, not knowing why. 'How do you feel?'

'Tired' she answered weakly. 'So tired.' and let herself drift into unconsciousness again. Eventually, she was awake enough to sit up in bed, and saw that what she had thought was sunlight was in fact the strip lighting of the medical wing. Her whole body felt heavy, and stiff, and she was surrounded by medical equipment. The flowers were gone. How long had she been here?

'Three weeks.' She looked round, startled. There was Jin.

'Oh, I didn't know I said that out loud.' and she was surprised by how thin her own voice sounded.

'It's a miracle you're alive.' He came over, and sat by her. She smiled weakly at him, and let her fingers fall into the spaces between his knuckles. For a brief moment, there was no context – no past, no future – just the feel of Jin's skin against hers, and the knowledge that she _was_ still alive. But that was wrong … Julia knit her brow, because, of course, things had come before. Slowly her mind began to clear.

'But, Jin, the devil, you, you're not …' And Julia felt fear grip her stomach. She tried to fight the oncoming memory, to push it back, away, as she had done before, but it would not be resisted, and Julia's eyes were wide with horror as remembrance came crashing at her; and she was there, again, in the arena, her hair quivering in the strangely quiet aftermath of the transformation --

She was standing over Jin. There was a thick smog screening the sunlight. There was gunfire, muffled at first, then louder and louder, _until it was there, and real, and so was she. Had it been her? Had she finally done it? Had she saved him as she was prophesised to do? But, no, there was someone else there too._

_Asuka. _

_And suddenly it all made sense. How terrible, how terrible. The words echoed in her head, but she could not voice t__hem, not now. Because there was something more important … Her mouth opened, words tumbled out. Those words which had drifted away at the time, were now etched sharply and irrevocably on her mind,_

_ 'Jin.' she said, 'Do you love Asuka?'_

_He was stunned for a second. Asuka seemed about to say something, to protest, but he looked at her. It was almost accidental – a glance of uncertainty, but their eyes locked__, as if a gossamer thread had been cast from one to the other, holding their gaze in place, and, without looking away, he answered,_

_ 'I've loved Asuka since I was twelve years old.' Asuka was frozen._

_ 'Asuka, do you love Jin?'_

_There was a silence, and then, very quietly,_

_ 'Yes … yes.' Asuka looked up at Julia, her eyes brimming with tears._

'Julia! Julia!' Jin was shaking her shoulder urgently. Julia awoke from the memory,

'It wasn't me.' she said quietly.

'What?'

'I wasn't the one who saved you. I … I wasn't the one …' Jin's face fell.

'Julia, I love you. I –'

'It's not enough.' Julia shook her head slowly, her eyes beginning to prickle with heat. 'She is the _one_, the one Maria was talking about. All this time I thought it was me, but …' Jin's face was intense and confused,

'Julia, I don't understand.'

'Asuka.' Julia waited for Jin to say something, but he didn't. He couldn't. He looked away, and his expression, torn and pained, was enough.

'I have to go.' mouthed Julia, and she got up. Wires clung to her like brambles, but she broke free of them, and fled. She felt Jin try to grab her, and thought she heard him call her name. Doors and people moved past Julia, her bare feet slipping on the polished floor as she ran blindly through the corridors. Everything seemed to be tumbling, crashing, imploding. Julia only knew that she could not turn back. She could not face a life with Jin knowing she had forced him to compromise, that he had sacrificed his destiny for her. And more than this, she could not bear it. She simply could not bear that he loved someone else better than her. When every fibre of her self was for Jin, Jin, Jin alone. She did not think these thoughts logically, but they were what drove her on, through the gleaming white corridors, away from the only man she had ever loved, the greatest happiness she had ever know, and the most pain. Finally, she flung two doors open, and stumbled out, blinking, into the sunlight.

Julia felt her knees buckle. It was as if every fibre of strength that she had built up over the past, harrowing few months had snapped at once, and she broke down. She curled into herself and wept with a pain and a loss greater than anything she had ever known. At that moment, it felt that everything had gone, that her world was crumbling around her. Julia felt, wildly but certainly, that nothing, nothing could ever be good again, because she did not have Jin. She buried her face in her hands and wished, hopelessly, that it could be different, that it all could have been different. But it wasn't, and it couldn't. She had lost him. She had lost Jin.

* * *

Julia wept. She wept until she had run out of tears to shed, and then she carried on sobbing until her throat was raw. Soon she slept. She slept because she was tired. She slept because there was nothing to be awake for.

The days rolled on, and each morning that she awoke and remembered, it seemed to be happening all over again, the pain as fresh as ever. But one day, so distant, it seemed to Julia, that it would never arrive, it would get better. She would wake up, she would look out of the window across the Arizona skyline, dark and rugged and familiar. She would rub her eyes and go to her desk, where the notes of her research would be scattered from the night before. She would gather them up into a loose pile. As she did so, for no particular reason, she would see the scar on her palm. She was so used to it that she hardly noticed it any more. But as she absent-mindedly ran her fingers over the faint ridges, she would recall how it had happened. She would smile dimly, because the memory was so strange and so far away that it hardly seemed real any more. When she thought of her husband, whom she loved gently and unswervingly, the wild, all-encompassing love she had known for Jin all those years ago would be tempered by a hard-won realism -- such a love cannot last – she could not have felt like that forever, or she could not move. She could not have eaten or slept or thought – she would be paralysed with it. She had loved Jin, because it had been _necessary_ to love him. Asuka may have saved him, but it had been Julia who had sustained him. Reflecting on this, Julia would smile sadly, then tuck her research into a file, and prepare for another day.

* * *

Firstly, let me say thank-you so much for making it this far! I've truly been blown away by the response this story has gotten.

Next, I know that this might not be the ending some of you were hoping for. I felt for various reasons that I could not authentically deliver an entirely happy ending. Sorry for being a little vague, but if you feel a bit disappointed, and want to understand my motives a little better, you are welcome to message me directly.

Anyway, I only say this by way of explanation, not to guilt you into giving me good reviews! But please do review, and be as honest as possible. You've already paid me the biggest compliment you possibly could by making it to the end of my story, so the least I can do is listen to your opinions on it – good, bad, whatever. I doubt I'll be writing any more fanfiction after this, but my original stuff has been published here and there, and a few people I respect have mentioned the idea of going into writing professionally to me, so I'd always appreciate the input of some impartial readers to help me gauge whether it's something worth pursuing. Big love to you all!


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